Love to Hate You
by tinnie75
Summary: AU - There is something about the way she looks at him. The way her cheeks flush and her beautiful green eyes sparkle. Like she wants to wrap her hands around his neck and strangle him, but she thinks better of it. It amuses him like nothing else. No other woman has been able to fire him up like Betty Cooper. And yet he hates her.
1. Chapter 1

**My first Bughead multi-chapter is finally seeing the light of day. All the chapters are already written and I'll try to post them every Monday and Thursday (so the second chapter should come tomorrow). I hope all of you will enjoy my take on an enemies to lover fanfic and leave me your thoughts.**

 **The biggest thank yous go to birdlovesafish and ladybughead (on tumblr) my wonderful betas.**

Betty rushes into the shared office of Clickfeed ten minutes after nine, pieces of hair falling from her usually slick ponytail. She has only been working there for about six months, but she has never been late. Betty Cooper is not the kind of person to be late for work. But this morning her alarm didn't go off and ever since then her day has been a mess. She didn't have time for her usual morning workout, nor a proper breakfast and since she was late, she didn't even have time to stop for coffee on her way to work like she usually does.

So now her stomach is rumbling and she feels her anxiety levels are higher than they should be at this point of the day. To be quite honest, she's not exactly late. Her boss doesn't care when she comes in or even what she does when she's working as long as she meets the deadlines. But this is Betty's first job since graduating university and while it's far from what she actually wants to do, she believes that putting in the hard work will eventually pay off. But over the course of time she has spent in this company it hasn't brought her many benefits. Instead of slowly climbing up the career ladder. She's now basically known as Clickfeed's very own girl Friday. Much like she did in high school. So now apart from her job of writing articles for the least interesting and visited corners of the website she also helps the editor when she gets overwhelmed. On top of that she's currently standing in for her boss's secretary who left for maternity leave two months ago and has yet to be replaced. She strongly suspects her boss, Mr. Weatherbee, has never even made the effort to look for someone.

But Betty is a people pleaser. She can't say no when her colleagues ask her for help. Despite everything, she still believes that one day someone will notice her hard work and she will actually get promoted to something better than writing articles like _"10 things every housewife needs to know"_. She has always dreamed of being an investigative journalist, but even graduating top of her class at Columbia couldn't guarantee her the offer of a lifetime right off the bat. So she tries to do the best she can, hoping her hard work will be rewarded eventually.

She finally slides into her chair in the corner of the big office that she shares with ten other people, only separated from them by a half wall. The words on the big wall she's in front of are mocking her. _When we all work together, we all win together._ In reality, most of her co-workers have headphones on 90% of the time, buried either in their work or in whatever they're doing to avoid working. Sharing the office is more of a nuisance than help.

Deciding that the growling of her stomach and the lack of caffeine in her system would be an unwanted distraction, at least until lunchtime, Betty decides to head straight for the kitchen. That place is usually stocked with a bunch of unhealthy snacks and coffee that is nowhere near as good as the one she tends to get at Starbucks, but it will have to do.

The moment she enters the kitchen she regrets sleeping in once again. Because there he is. Jughead Jones, leaning against the kitchen counter as he sips from his huge cup of coffee and scrolls through something on his phone. Today he's wearing his usual outfit. Checkered flannel shirt over a pale grey shirt, suspenders hanging down his legs and the beanie that never leaves his head covering the mass of black waves. Betty has to admit that there is something about that dark brooding look of his that makes him incredibly attractive to her, but she quickly pushes those thoughts away. For a second she considers just walking away from there and waiting until he leaves, but she's pretty sure he has noticed her by now and she doesn't want him to think she's avoiding him. It's not like she's scared of him or embarrassed by the situation. She just hates him. More than hates him.

Jughead Jones, with a name she's sure is made up and makes her wonder how bad his real name must be for him to prefer such a stupid nickname, is a fellow journalist for Clickfeed. He seems to be about the same age as Betty, but he has been working there since before graduation and therefore acts like he owns the place and she's an unwanted bug he can't get rid of. She isn't very close with any of her co-workers, but at least they have been nice and friendly since her very first day. Jughead, on the other hand, didn't even acknowledge her for the first month, probably assuming she was just one of the many interns who came and went. According to their co-workers, Jughead is a loner who doesn't really make much effort to talk to anyone in the office. A self-proclaimed weirdo, a title nobody is fighting to take away from him, who always stumbles into the office late, looking like he hasn't slept for weeks, if the dark circles under his eyes are any indication. Sure, he has a way with words, his witty articles in which he reviews and criticizes local food places bringing a lot of traffic to their website, but that doesn't make him a good colleague. Betty always tries to see the best in people, so she could just look past all that and assume he's simply very introverted or antisocial and let him be.

However, his attitude isn't something she can get over. Ever since he realized she was not just another intern to ignore, he couldn't stop himself from sending the occasional snarky remarks her way. She was the "preppy", the "suck up" or even the "brown noser". _"I see you've been promoted to secretary,"_ he said to her once after witnessing her trying to juggle her boss's correspondence, while planning the next board meeting. Sure, he was right that she was now devoting more time to managing their boss's activities than actually writing articles for the website, but the condescending tone he used made her blood boil. Being her well behaved self, she just shot him a dirty look. She knew that the best way to deal with bullies was to ignore them and they would get bored. But this was not the kind of bullying she was used to from high school. So eventually, instead of just ignoring him, she started shooting insults back at him. They weren't always the most thought-through or creative, but it felt good to let her anger out on someone she didn't have to worry about impressing since he already made up his mind about her anyway.

After a moment of hesitation she steps further into the room, trying to avoid eye contact with Jughead. She rummages through the cabinets and the fridge for a few minutes, finding a bag of nuts, slightly stale bagel and a very brown banana. Not really close to the protein pancakes and a smoothie she's used to, but she assumes it will have to be good enough. However, when she reaches for the pot of coffee and finds it empty, she can't avoid letting out a grunt of frustration.

"Seems like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed," Jughead mutters into his mug, well aware of the fact that he poured himself last of the coffee, not bothering to make a new pot.

"Says someone whose bed doesn't seem to have the right side," Betty bites back quickly. Not the wittiest reply, she admits, but she is in no mood for games. She, like many others, became a coffee addict during college and not getting her usual dose of caffeine makes her forget all about being nice. Or in this case, about coming up with a better reply.

"Don't you know how to make your own coffee?" he asks mockingly and raises his left eyebrow. "Besides I thought you'd be more of a pumpkin spice latte kind of girl. We don't have anything that fancy here. Just plain old coffee."

Betty rolls her eyes at his response, wondering why she actually tried to befriend him for the first few weeks on the job. She read his articles, attempted to find a shared interest and start a conversation with him, she even brought some food to the office, trying to match the criteria that she discovered from his reviews. But even though the pie she left for him was gone by the end of the day, he never said a word to her about it. Neither thank you, nor criticism. Which, looking back on it now, was one of the nicer things he has done. Eventually she just decided to give up and pour her energy into something that could actually have a future. Even if it was playing a secretary for the time being.

"It's April. And I know how to make my own coffee. But I'm pretty sure your stupid face made all the milk here go sour." She scowls at him, but he doesn't seem offended. Self-deprecating jokes seem to be his thing and he never fights her back on her insults for him. If anything, her attempts to insult him make the corner of his lips turn up. Betty wishes she had such a careless attitude. But years of her mother telling her to be perfect make her not take mean remarks all that lightly. _"What people think about you means everything,"_ Alice Cooper used to say to her regularly and while Betty tries to break free of that mindset, it's not always easy. She values other people's opinions even in situations when she shouldn't.

"I'm sure your super sweet personality can fix that right up." Jughead gives her a cheeky grin and takes a big gulp of his coffee, making sure his face shows just how much he's enjoying it. "But I guess even little miss perfect can't fix everything."

Betty's hands start curling into fists, but she stops herself before her nails have the chance to cut through her skin. A habit she has been battling since her early teenager years and she isn't going to break her progress for some stupid emo's comments. "I hate you. You… jerk," Betty spats, grabs her snacks and storms out of the room before she has the chance to do something stupid.

"I hate you more," he calls after her as a smirk spreads across his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Big thank you to everyone who commented and supported this story after the first chapter. I'm glad you're enjoying it and hope you'll continue to do so. :) The third chapter should be coming your way on Thursday**

Jughead watches Betty as she storms out of the kitchen, a wide grin plastered on his face. There is something about the way she looks when she's angry with him. The way her cheeks flush and her beautiful green eyes sparkle. Like she wants to wrap her hands around his neck and strangle him, but she thinks better of it and stops herself, spiting petty insults at him instead. It amuses him like nothing else. There is something extremely endearing about it. And hot, he hates to admit. No other woman has been able to fire him up like Betty Cooper. And yet he hates her. God, how much he hates her.

The first month Jughead didn't really acknowledge her. Her position in the company is usually filled by interns and people who want an easy temporary job while looking for something better. But for some reason Betty decided to stick around and Jughead knew he couldn't ignore her forever. Well, he could, but she seemed to be trying very hard to change that. One of the many things that irked him about the blonde. Sure, she was pretty and hard working, but also overly friendly and nice with a disgustingly positive attitude. As if nothing has ever gone wrong in her life. And Jughead assumed it hasn't. Because who else would be so enthusiastic about the crappy job she landed. With her pastel cardigans, wide smiles and incredible need to please everyone around her, she seemed to be his polar opposite. And while opposites may attract, they rarely work.

In her attempts to befriend him she once brought him a blueberry pie and even though he would never admit it to anyone, it was the best pie he has ever eaten and Jughead wished he could've written about it for his section of the website. He has been secretly hoping she would bring it again ever since. But of course that's just one of the many things about her he would never tell her. Like the fact that the very first time he saw her he ended up spilling coffee on himself because he couldn't take his eyes off her and ran into a glass door. Not his proudest moment.

But a lot has changed since then. Jughead is an observer so despite the little interaction between them, he has learned a few things about her. She hasn't missed a single day of work, nor has he ever seen her leave early, often staying in the office during the lunch break. So she's either trying to keep her job and climb the career ladder very hard or she doesn't have anything better to do with her day. Possibly both, he assumes. She's most definitely a people pleaser, a fact he likes to throw in her face regularly. Not always to be mean, but to make her realize that the people around them don't always need her help, and they just want to use her, since she clearly can't say no them. But most importantly, he notices how disgustingly nice she is.

She reminds him of some of the girls he hated in high school. Not the typical mean girls who only cared about being popular and bullied everyone who wasn't. Though he hated those too. Betty Cooper reminds him of the girls who look sweet and helpful on the outside, but they are willing to quietly bring you down if it makes them look better in front of the others. The kind that used to look down at him and his sister all through elementary and high school because they were poor, which in their eyes meant that they weren't worth being treated decently. The girls who made his little sister come home in tears because she didn't have the latest Barbie and therefore wasn't worth their time.

But most importantly she reminds him of his mother. The sweet woman who read him stories every night before bed when he was little, held his hand during storms and helped him with any small or big trouble he may have had. During all that she had a huge smile on her face that assured him that no matter what happened, she would always be there for him. Until she wasn't. It was that day in late August when he came home after having a fight with his friend that she first yelled at him, saying he would turn out just like his father. That night she didn't come to read to him before bed, nor was she making him breakfast the following morning. She was gone and so was his sister. The next time he saw her was two years later when she brought Jellybean back, just to disappear once and for all with no explanation or goodbye.

Jughead knows it's an asshole move to hate Betty just because she reminds him of someone who was cruel to him at some point. But he doesn't trust people who are nice to him for no reason. In Jughead's experience, niceness precedes hurt and people you care about can hurt you so much more. Jughead doesn't want to get hurt again. And being an asshole usually helps him prevent that.

So after a few weeks of assessing her personality he made a decision that she definitely wouldn't be making her way into his small circle of friends. Therefore there was no need for him to try to be friendly with her. Not that he was before he made his decision. But unlike the other people in the office who mostly ignored him, she kept pushing. Kept trying to find a way to weave into his life. So he started pushing her away. At first just ignoring her, later letting some mean remarks slip. Sooner than he realized there was a full on war going on between them. Because instead of leaving him alone, she started coming up with her own ways to scorn him. And now not a day passes without them exchanging a hateful glance or a mean comment. Maybe he should hate it. Maybe he is too old for childish games like this. But seeing Betty all worked up over a particularly well thought through piece of insult he sends her way or the proud look on her face when she comes up with one of her own is sometimes the best thing about his day. Just another item on the list of things he would never share.

It's exactly 3pm when Jughead finally finishes his work for the day. Some days his articles write themselves, some days it takes a huge amount of thinking to put together something worth publishing. When he first started working for Clickfeed it was just one of his many side jobs to cover his tuition to NYU. But when his articles about the different restaurants and food chains he tried in New York started bringing a significant amount of traffic to the website he got himself a full-time contract. But with more popularity comes more pressure from his boss. He wants him to write more, but keep it positive under all circumstances. They wouldn't want to upset anyone, would they? It's far from an ideal job, but it pays almost well enough. And he needs the money. When his sister Jellybean got accepted to Columbia on partial scholarship, he promised her, but mostly himself, that he would take care of her. He wouldn't let her worry about whether she could afford to go back to school the next semester or not. And if it means holding onto the not so ideal job while also spending some of his afternoons and weekends at construction sites for at least a few more years, it's totally worth it. He may or may not be acting like an asshole sometimes, but when he cares, he cares deeply.

He gathers his things and moves towards the exit, casting a quick glance at Betty across the office. As usually, despite most of the people packing their things and getting ready to leave, she's holding a phone to her ear with her shoulder, while trying to balance a stack of papers with one hand and a cup of coffee, most likely meant for their boss, in the other hand. Jughead just shakes his head and a small grin grows on his lips. She is too nice. Too nice for her own good.


	3. Chapter 3

**Once again huge thank you to everyone who is reading and supporting this story. It means a lot to me that all the time and effort I put into writing this didn't go to waste. I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story and remember that sometimes things we don't like have to happen to make space for things we like ;)**

"Thanks a lot, mate. I know it's not your department, but it's awesome you were able to get me an interview," Archie says to his best friend, nervously stepping from one foot to another, waiting for his interview. "My agent keeps telling me I need to put myself out there a bit more. Make people interested in me and their interest in my music will follow or something like that. But he doesn't actually get me any interviews himself," he complains and runs his hand through his red hair.

"Maybe you should think about getting a different agent, Arch. One that can actually do their job," Jughead mumbles, throwing another handful of chips into his mouth. "But don't thank me until the article is up. I don't know who will be writing it or what it will be about. It may not end up being the kind of publicity that you want," Jughead warns him. Archie is his best and only friend. Definitely someone he doesn't want to disappoint. So when Archie asked whether there was someone at Jughead's work who would be interested in doing an interview with him, Jughead ran the idea to his boss who promised to make it happen. Two weeks later Weatherbee informed him he found someone to interview the young musician and they set up a date to meet up. Now Jughead isn't so sure it was the best way to go about things. Currently there isn't anyone working in the music department since, as many other departments in the company, it's not the most desirable positions. Whoever ends up interviewing his friend may have no knowledge of the music industry or article writing in general.

"You must be Archie Andrews, the musician?" Jughead hears the soft voice full of enthusiasm before he can even see the blonde ponytail bouncing on the way to his desk. "I'll be doing the interview with you today, my name is…"

"Of course it had to be you," Jughead grunts, interrupting Betty's introduction to his best friend, who is standing frozen, his mouth slightly open as he watches the beautiful blonde in front of him. "Is there really no one else who can do this interview?"

"What do you care?" Betty spats at him quickly, not willing to fight with him in front of the cute redhead. "I'm Betty Cooper. Follow me please," she says sweetly and gives him a bright smile before turning to Jughead and shooting him an annoyed look as she leads Archie to her desk. She hasn't done many interviews, but when her boss mentioned the opportunity, she grabbed it without asking for any more details. She would do anything to have a bit more freedom in her writing. Even if interviews with wanna be artists are not exactly her thing. But she certainly won't let Jughead's mean stares ruin her mood.

"How did the interview with Lizzie Mcguire go?" Jughead asks when Archie comes back to his desk about an hour later. He had been trying take a peek at them from across the room and saw them laughing a couple of times, something he never saw Betty do unless it was a fake polite laughter she used to make some of their co-workers to feel better about themselves. _Such a Betty Cooper thing to do._ Jughead thought. But this, this seemed different and Jughead felt a weird tug in his chest. What could they be talking about that made Betty's façade drop? He kept craning his neck but the office has been surprisingly busy that day so he had no luck figuring out what was actually going on there and it bothered him more than it should've.

"I think it went well," Archie replies with a small smile dancing on his lips. "But really, Jug, I don't know why you hate her so much."

"Oh, c'mon. You did not just get fooled by her niceness, did you?" Jughead rolls his eyes even though he should've expected it. Archie is too good and trusting. "I'm telling you, she's vicious. Nobody is being that sickeningly nice to you unless they want something."

"I don't know, man. She really seems sweet and like she cared about what I had to say." Archie smiles, thinking back at the interview he has just done with Betty. She seemed genuinely interested in his story as a young musician and not just because she was doing an interview with him. "Maybe you're misjudging her. Not everyone who is nice to you has to have some hidden agenda."

"Well of course you would say that. The moment you see a pretty girl your sense of judgment goes out of the window." Jughead shakes his head in disbelief. Archie always wants to see the best in people, while Jughead prefers to keep everyone at arm's length until he's sure he can trust them. It doesn't work perfectly for either of them, but it's good enough. But when it comes to Betty, he doesn't want Archie to make up his mind about her too quickly. Jughead has known her long enough to know, that there is something dark lurking behind that bright smile. He may not know what she's hiding, but he'd rather not be involved. He has had enough darkness in his life. It doesn't matter that she occasionally makes his heart skip a beat. She's attractive and even Jughead isn't so blind he wouldn't notice it. But he's not gonna let her into his life.

"I know I may have dated some girls that turned pretty crazy, so I don't have the best track record when it comes to judging people's personality, but you must trust me on this one," Archie says with confidence. "I may actually prove it to you because I'll be seeing her again this weekend."

"What?!" Jughead's eyes snap to Archie's, hoping he misunderstood him. His best friend getting involved in any way with Betty Cooper is the last thing he wants. For more reasons than he can count.

"I asked her to come to my performance this Saturday and she said yes. I don't know if it's a date or… But she seemed excited," Archie says, a dreamy look already spreading across his face as it does every time he tells Jughead he thinks he found "the one". But this time, instead of just simply rolling his eyes at his friend, Jughead feels that tug in his chest again. Something he's not used to feeling. Especially in regards to Betty. "You don't mind, do you?" Archie asks, noticing the frozen expression on his best friend's face.

"What? Why would I… I'm not jealous," Jughead interrupts him, perhaps a bit too quickly. The last thing he needs is for Archie to think that he's trying to talk him out of a date with Betty for anything else than his own sake.

"I never said… Why would you be jealous? You don't like her like that, do you?" Archie's face scrunches up in confusion. He has known Jughead most of his life and learned to understand his complicated personality, but right now he's making even less sense than usually.

"No!" Jughead exclaims. "I meant," he stammers, cursing himself for opening his mouth in the first place. What's wrong with him? "I meant that I'm not jealous that she's taking my friend away from me. I'm just looking out for you, man. I don't trust her at all."

"You don't trust anyone." Archie shakes his head with laugh. "But don't worry. I can take care of myself."

"Okay, do what you want." Jughead sighs defiantly. He knows that at this point it's too late to try to talk Archie out of it. "But don't expect me to rescue you if she locks you up in some sort of dungeon or tries to sacrifice you to the devil."

Even though Betty has been living in New York since college, besides Veronica she hasn't made any close friends. Therefore, when it came to social outings, there were only few and far in between. So when the cute musician asked her to come to his gig, she didn't really hesitate. He seemed to be a good friend of Jughead, which made her slightly worried that the whole thing was just a mean prank orchestrated by him, but it was a risk she was willing to take. Most of the nights she didn't mind staying in with her cat Caramel and reading or binge watching TV shows, but sometimes she did miss socializing with people her age. Or people in general.

"You can't wear a cardigan to a date in a bar," Betty's best friend said when they were picking out her outfit. Betty told her it wasn't exactly a date and that it wasn't exactly a bar either. More like a pub for up and coming musicians. But no matter her arguments, Veronica insisted that Betty couldn't go out in her usual choice of clothing.

So there she is now, in a short black skirt, sheer red top and a black leather jacket. Betty has to admit that her usual pastel clothing would make her look even more out of place than she feels, but she still insists that it's not a date. She doesn't want to assume that Archie's invitation is anything more than a polite way of thanking her for doing an interview with him.

"Hey, you came," Archie says with a wide smile after he gets off the stage and makes his way towards Betty. He has just performed three of his songs and the audience, including the blonde he has been watching the whole time, was mesmerized.

"Of course I came," Betty replies, wondering whether he expected her to pass on his invitation. "I wanted to see if you actually had a talent worth writing about," she jokes, pulling at her skirt nervously. Veronica suggested that she listen to his songs online first, in case she doesn't like them, but Betty refused. She wanted to be able to give Archie a genuine reaction.

"And the verdict?" He cocks his head to the side and watches her intently, waiting for her opinion. He knows she was smiling during his performance and even nodding her head from time to time, but he doesn't want to assume she liked his music.

"Judging by the three songs I've just heard?" She pretends to think hard about it for a second, before her lips turn into a wide grin. "I think you deserve it."

"I could always play you more if you want," Archie says, giving her his best smile, relieved that she isn't disappointed. He doesn't care what Jughead says, this girl seems sweet as sugar and he wants to get to know her better. And not just to prove his friend wrong.

"I would love that," Betty replies and bites her lip, wondering whether Archie is suggesting to spend more time with her or if he is just being polite. Either way, she has no reason to refuse.

"But first let me buy you a drink. You're my honorary guest tonight." He gently touches her shoulder and leads her to the bar.

"Thanks for walking me home. You really didn't have to do that," Betty says sheepishly when she and Archie stop in front of her apartment. They sat in the bar for a few more hours, listening to music, exchanging stories and flirty smiles until there were no more artists left to play. When he offered to see her home, she was no longer wondering whether he was just trying to be polite.

"It's late and New York is a dangerous place. It wouldn't be right." He shrugs his shoulder as if it's the most obvious answer even though they both know she could've easily taken the cab on her own. "And I didn't want our evening to end just yet," he adds and Betty feels the blush creep on her cheeks.

"Well thank you. And thank you for the whole evening. I really had fun at the bar." She smiles, never imagining she would say those words. Betty and bars don't usually mix well.

"No, thank you. I know I'm not the most notable artists to go and see perform, but I really appreciate your support. And I enjoyed your company. A lot," he says in almost a whisper as he steps closer and takes her hand into his. Their eyes lock and she answers his unspoken question with a small nod and a smile. The next moment he is leaning in, lightly capturing her lips with his, the kiss sweet and light as a feather.

But when they pull away again, neither of them is smiling anymore. "You didn't..." Archie starts, not sure how to put the lack emotions into words. He had been hoping to kiss her the whole night, imagining how her lips would feel against his.

"No." Betty shakes her head lightly. She knows exactly what Archie means. She didn't feel anything. But she isn't surprised by it either.

Archie is incredibly sweet. Too sweet perhaps. If she could be the judge of something like that. Betty hated herself for it, but throughout the evening her mind wandered to Jughead on more than one occasion. She couldn't help herself and compare her conversation with Archie to her interaction with Jughead. The way he challenges her every opinion and doesn't steer clear from confrontation. Sure, she hates his constant need to criticize everything but it keeps her on her toes. It keeps things interesting. Archie, on the other hand, seemed to agree with everything she said, not trying to challenge her even once. He seems polite and supportive. Relationship with him would be easy. The kind of love she always envisioned for herself. Yet somehow, she doesn't anymore. While all these things irritate her about Jughead, she misses them with Archie. And there is only one person to blame for that. Just another thing Jughead Jones ruined for her.

"I'm sorry," he says, his cheeks burning red. This was new. He hasn't had much luck with girls in the past, his relationships never lasting more than a couple of weeks. But there was always at least some fire behind it. Some spark from the very first moment. And while he enjoys his time with Betty very much, seeing what he assumes is his ideal girlfriend, the chemistry between them is practically non-existent. Heck, he saw more sparks flying between her and Jughead that day at their office, and they hate each other.

"You have nothing to apologize for. It takes two to tango. And it seems like we won't be dancing." She sighs, not even attempting to hide her disappointment. Archie has been sweet and good to her and he is undoubtedly good looking too. He might be perfect for someone, but that someone isn't her.

"I wish we could. You're an amazing woman, Betty."

"And you're an amazing guy." Betty smiles, giving Archie's arm a reassuring squeeze. She doesn't want him to feel bad. "But some things aren't meant to be."

 **In the next chapter Betty has to deal with her feelings about the unsuccessful date while Jughead keeps battling the unexpected jealousy. What do you think they should do about it?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you everyone for such a wonderful response to the last chapter. I really hope you'll enjoy this one at least as much. It's a shorter one, but hopefully very enjoyable. Definitely let me know what you think of it :)**

The following Monday Betty thinks about her failed date with Archie as she's heating up her lunch at work. She feels a little down that her first attempt at a date in so long ended up being such a flop. Being an introverted workaholic doesn't enable her to meet many new people. So even though she didn't go to Archie's performance with the vision of finding a boyfriend, after spending a couple of hours chatting to him and flirting she was a bit disappointed when his kiss did nothing for her. She didn't expect fireworks that only really happen in crappy romance novels, but a little flutter of butterflies in her stomach would be nice. But apparently, Archie felt the same way. "It wasn't even meant to be a date," she says to herself in consolation, but can't help it and wonder, whether she was the problem. She saw how the girls in the bar were looking at Archie. He surely has no shortage of possible dates.

"Are you keeping my friend in a cage somewhere?" Jughead's voice suddenly interrupts her thoughts and startles her when he appears in the kitchen. "Because I haven't heard from him since your little date," he unintentionally stresses the last word a bit too much, hoping Betty can't hear the tone of jealousy in his voice. He's not sure where it's coming from, but he's determined to believe it's just worry for his friend and what spending time with Betty could do to him.

"Maybe he just finally got sick of your gloomy attitude," Betty says nonchalantly. She still hated herself for how many times Jughead crossed her mind while she was spending time with Archie. And while she tried to get him out of her mind during the weekend, she was less than successful. She kept going over the events of the date in her head and wondered how the two guys ever became friends. While Archie seems naturally friendly and sweet with a big heart, the only adjectives she could use to describe Jughead are gloomy, bitter and mean. Sure, they're both good looking, if you try to look past the unapproachable mask that Jughead wears on his face all the time, but that's not enough to form a friendship. Not unless you're a bunch of high school girls. "But just so you know, I haven't seen or heard from him since he dropped me off. You can't blame this one on me."

"So it didn't go that well then?" Jughead asks, trying to hide the surprise and relief in his voice. He assumed that Archie not letting him know about his Saturday night was just a form of courtesy as Jughead certainly didn't want to listen to him gushing about how lovely and amazing Betty is. The idea of that has been eating away at him for days. Archie and Betty laughing together, holding hands, kissing. Archie bringing Betty everywhere with him, making Jughead the best man at their wedding. It was making his stomach turn. But not quite for the reason he first thought.

"Not that you need to know, but no it didn't. You don't have to worry about me seeing your friend again," Betty says, not letting the feeling of disappointment show. She doesn't need Jughead to know how pathetic she is that she can't even make a simple kiss work.

"Good," Jughead replies with a sigh, letting the feeling of relief wash over him completely this time.

"Of course," Betty scoffs, the disappointment quickly turning into anger. "You don't want anything good to happen to me."

"You know nothing about what I want," Jughead says, his blue eyes locking with her green ones as he takes a step closer to her, now standing mere inches apart. He is sick of people assuming they know him when they don't, and Betty is certainly not an exception.

"Well what do you want?" Betty asks, her breath hitching in her throat. The question barely leaves her lips when she feels Jughead's arms wrapping around her, lifting her up and pressing her against the kitchen cabinets. For a second Betty is too stunned to move. She must've mixed up her meds somehow. This couldn't be reality. Jughead Jones, the grumpy emo co-worker who has never said a single nice thing to her is kissing her. But what surprises her even more is her reaction. Because she doesn't hate it. She's not disgusted in the slightest. She's enjoying it. So after that second of astonishment she's kissing him back. Their lips move frantically, teeth clashing and tongues battling, trying to convey all the hate and frustration for each other in one kiss. Somewhere along the way Betty's hand slides under his beanie, pulling on his soft hair, wishing she could do it every day. Jughead groans at the sensation of her fingers on his scalp, but he doesn't break the kiss. Instead he wraps one of his arms around her waist and pulls her closer while his other hand inches higher up her thigh, his thumb drawing small circles on her smooth skin. He can't help himself but wonder how that skin would feel against his lips, taste against his tongue.

It may have been a minute or an hour. They wouldn't know because every time their lips meet their hunger only grows stronger. For a moment all of the hatred they've been carrying for each other turns into passion and it threatens to burn them alive unless they let it out. So they do. Pushing and pulling, biting and sucking. The world around them is a blur as they put their differences aside, focusing on what they both want and need at the moment. Jughead's lips move lower, at first just lightly brushing over the skin of Betty's neck, before he lets his teeth graze over her pulse point and she gasps. Liking the reaction he does it again, this time biting a little harder and her gasp turns into a satisfied moan.

But it's the moan that pops the bubble they created between themselves and the rest of the world and brings him back to reality. All of a sudden Jughead isn't blissfully unaware of their surrounding anymore. He's back in the kitchen at work he doesn't enjoy and the woman whose thighs are wrapped around his waist is the person he despises. They're not in some sort of dream realm where their actions don't matter. "This never happened," Jughead says, pulling away from her suddenly. He secures the beanie on his head and storms out of the kitchen, not daring to look Betty in the eyes as he does so.

Betty stares after him, her lips still slightly parted, the swelling now the only proof it wasn't all just a sick dream. She hates him. Despises him. Arrogant bastard. Who does he think he is? Why does he think he has the right to just come up to her and kiss her? But she hates herself even more. Hates herself for enjoying the feel of his lips on hers, the way his teeth tugged on her bottom lip just enough to bring out the fire in her and not to hurt her. She hates herself for wanting the kiss to last a little longer, for his fingers on the back of her thighs to move a little higher. Just a few minutes ago she was wondering if there was something wrong with her. If she was the reason her kiss with Archie brought up no feelings, no passion. Now she knows better. She shuts her eyes and rests her head against the kitchen cabinet, willing her heartbeat to come back to normal. She hates him and no matter how much her body wants him, she will never give him that satisfaction again.

After the heated moment in the kitchen Jughead heads straight for the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face. "What the fuck are you doing?" he mutters under his breath, looking at himself in the mirror. What was he thinking? Kissing Betty Cooper. Sure, she wore her hair down, which made her look particularly pretty and the warm spring weather prompting her to wear a skirt shorter than he imagined she owned didn't help either. But since when did Jughead let his dick decide things for him? He hates the woman. Hates the way she made his body react at the sound of a moan escaping her lips. And even though he can't get her lavender smell and the fruity taste of her lipgloss out of his head, the memory is all it is ever going to be. He hoped kissing her once would help quench his flaming desire for her, but it only made things worse. It only made him want her more. It was a stupid, stupid decision and he will not let something like that happen again. She may not be going out with Archie again, but the idea of her with another man still makes his guts twist. It's not jealousy. He just feels bad for those men. He tells himself. Certainly not jealousy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Big thank you to everyone who commented on the previous chapter, it really brought a smile to my face and I had so much fun reading through your comments. Hopefully this chapter will be enjoyable for you as well.**

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Betty gasps when his teeth pull on the skin of her neck, the pain surprising her in the best way possible. He quickly soothes it with a kiss, while his hands continue to roam her body and she bites back a moan, not wanting him to know just how much she's enjoying what he's doing. How much she wants him. Needs him.

He continues, pressing sloppy wet kisses all over her chest, but the movement of his fingers is anything but sloppy, finding all the right places to touch to make her shudder under him. In any other situation she would hate that he has so much control over her. But not now.

"I still hate you," he mutters into the crook of her neck matter-of-factly, but she doesn't care what he thinks of her. Not as long as he continues whatever it is that he's doing with his hands that feels so good. She's close. So damn close.

"Good." She manages to squeeze the word between the gasps and moans that grow more frequent with his every stroke. She's not holding back anymore, finding it too hard and too pointless. She can't hide the way her body reacts to him and she doesn't want to. Especially when he seems to be doing everything he can to make her yell his name by the end. "'Cause I hate you too."

Betty gasps and wakes up with a startle, a trickle of sweat running down her back. It's been two weeks since the little moment of passion she and Jughead shared in the kitchen, but the more she tries to forget it, the more it gets burned into her memory. This was not the first and she suspects not the last dream like this. Each of them slightly different, but they all feel so real and make her wake up covered in sweat and with an ache between her thighs that can't be satisfied by her alone. Just one more reason for her to hate Jughead Jones.

At work they have been doing everything they can to avoid each other. Betty brings enough food and caffeine with her to be able to get through the day without entering the room where it all happened. They are both avoiding eye contact whenever they pass each other, but Betty is pretty sure she's felt him watching her on more than one occasion. Not that she hopes he's dreaming about her the same way she does about him, but she hopes that his decision to kiss her is torturing him at least as much as it does her.

Ever since his moment of weakness Jughead has been trying to occupy himself with work to get his mind of the blonde sitting at the opposite side of the office. He isn't all that successful considering he occasionally catches himself staring at her across the room, letting his mind wander to all the things he would do if he ever got the opportunity to touch her like that again. As much as he's trying to force those images out of his mind and remind himself of all the reasons why he hates her, most of which are quite trivial and only based on his insecurities if he's being completely honest, he still can't forget how good it felt when she was running her hand through his hair and her thighs were squeezing his hips. He gives himself a mental slap and tries to come back to work.

Thankfully he has been getting a surprising amount of emails in the past week, all concerning a restaurant in Brooklyn he had yet to visit. According to his research it has recently gotten a new owner, but also a new set of problems. Several people have reported to him terrible cases of food poisoning. Their reactions ranging from the more common stomach issues to people ending up in a hospital. Despite all of this, the restaurant seems to have a clean record and seems to have passed the health inspection with flying colors.

While Jughead usually prefers to keep his articles simple, focusing on his own experience rather than what other people seem to be saying, the emails coming to his inbox more and more frequently peek his interest. He knows it wouldn't be the right thing to ignore such a serious issue. Especially as his writing could have a serious impact on the situation. But it isn't exactly his area of expertise and he's afraid there isn't much he can do on his own.

That's why he ends up in his boss' office, telling him about the whole issue and asking him if there is someone in the office he can hook him up with to help with the investigation. Mr. Weatherbee, all happy considering an article like that could bring a lot of traffic to their website, agrees and promises Jughead to find someone to help him as soon as possible.

It's barely twenty-four hours after Jughead's discussion with Weatherbee when Betty strolls to his desk, saying she'll be the one helping him with his article.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jughead exclaims, running his hands across his face. "Out of all the people here it has to be you to work with me on this article."

When Mr. Weatherbee called Betty to his office with an offer to help with an article that could for once actually help people, she didn't ask for details before agreeing. She has been writing silly clickbait articles and occasional interviews for months, but what she's wanted ever since high school was to do some actual investigative journalism. When he told her she would be working alongside Jughead, her smile quickly disappeared, but her determination didn't waver.

"It's not like I won the lottery with you." Betty rolls her eyes. She is definitely not happy that she and Jughead are supposed to work together, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to finally do some investigative work. "But I'm not gonna let you ruin this opportunity for me. So throw your insults and stupid jokes at me all you want. I'm not backing out."

Jughead has to admit that she is determined and a very small part of him admires it. Finds it hot even. Seeing her fight for what she wants for once. But it certainly doesn't make him feel happy about having to cooperate with her. Especially since they haven't spoken a word to each other since the moment he stormed out of the kitchen after their little make out. The one he initiated, but she gladly participated in. Or did she?

Jughead has been desperate to know how she felt about it. He felt chemistry between them he has never experienced with anyone else. Though lately he didn't have much to compare it too, so his sex deprived body might not be the most reliable judge when it came to sexual chemistry. He suspects Betty has been avoiding him because she is either embarassed or disgusted. _"_ _This never happened,"_ he said and maybe she decided it was better to pretend it didn't. How stupid was he to think that pretending it never happened would actually make him forget it? He would never forget about it. But he would have to learn to work alongside Betty and act like he did. Since that was exactly what she was doing.

"Okay. Whatever." He throws his arms in the air resignedly. "But it's my article, so we're gonna do things on my terms."

Over the course of the next couple of days they work side by side on their article, trying to gather more information about the restaurant, its owner and trying to get in touch with the people who fell ill because of the food. It's a slow tedious process and their working sessions usually end with Betty calling him an asshole and storming out, while Jughead mutters insults of his own. But somehow their relationship improves and they are no longer just scowling at each other every chance they get. They are working towards a common goal which makes them set their differences aside at least for a little while. However, they're both quickly getting frustrated when they make little progress. They've contacted the authorities responsible for the hygiene and safety of the restaurant, but they claim everything is in perfect order and there is nothing to worry about.

"I think we need to go there ourselves," Betty says one day when she and Jughead meet again to compare their progress, concluding there is none. Most of the people who got food poisoning never saw a doctor about it and those who ended up in the hospital didn't show anything unusual on their test results. At least not anything that could be traced back to the food they ate.

"And do what, get ourselves poisoned as well?" Jughead asks bitterly. He has been putting way more time into this article than he first expected, yet the results were frustratingly low.

"No, dumbass." Betty rolls her eyes. "We need to take a look around, take some food samples with us or something. Have you never seen a detective show in your life?"

"I think you may have seen too many," Jughead scoffs, but he knows there is not much they can do from the inside of their office. The information they have gathered from other people doesn't seem to be enough to draw any conclusion and emails from random customers are not exactly a reliable source either. "But okay. We could use to take a look at the place ourselves," he agrees after a moment of consideration. "I'll try to hook us up with someone who can get the food samples tested."

"Great." Betty claps her hands excitedly. She knows it's unlikely that they will find something, but it's better than staying inside and hoping for evidence to come their way on its own. She will do anything to solve this case. Even if it means going to dinner with Jughead.

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 **So, Betty and Jughead are about to go on their first sleuthing mission together. How do you think that will go? Will they find something? Will it bring them closer or drive them further apart? Let me know what you think.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Once again big thank you to everyone who commented on the previous chapter. I'm grateful for any input and I really enjoy reading your thoughts and reactions. I hope this chapter will fulfill your expectations.**

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When they enter Ricco's restaurant two days later, it's pretty crowded. While Betty feels like telling everyone to leave before they consume any harmful food, she knows that more people keeping the staff busy gives them a better chance at sleuthing. They settle into a booth close enough to both the kitchen and a dingy looking corridor, as well as the front door, in case anything goes wrong and they need to get out of there as quickly as possible. A scenario, however exciting it would be, that neither of them is too keen on having to deal with.

"Why are you always so mean to everyone?" Betty asks when the waitress leaves their table with tears in her eyes after a few minutes of Jughead's obnoxious questions about almost every item on the menu followed by a couple of rude remarks.

"No, feta cheese and goat cheese is not the same thing. How could something so stupid cross your mind?" "Yes, it's important to me to know whether the beef is grass fed or not. Why do you care?" "The air conditioning is too cold, it's like you want us to leave as soon as possible."

Betty tried to hide behind her own menu, only peeking from behind it to send the waitress an apologetic glance. She was used to Jughead being mean to her, but she didn't expect him to be the kind of person who treats restaurant staff this poorly.

"Why are you always so nice?" he answers with a questions of his own. Something that has been boggling his mind pretty much since he has met Betty.

"Because it's the right thing to do. Because I want people to like me," she says as if it's the most obvious answer in the world. Her mother, not the nicest person in the world herself, has always told her to act nice and to try to please people. Only then they would like her. And according to Alice, other people liking you is what matters most. Betty knows better now, but being extremely nice to everyone is already engraved in her permanently.

"Exactly. You want people to like you. I don't," Jughead says, though it's not entirely true. He wants people to like him, but he'd prefer to keep them away himself than have them run away from him after they get to know him. "In this case specifically, if I annoy the waiter, they're more likely to add a nasty surprise to my food. If this restaurant is really doing something shady, we better cover all of our bases. You'll get the normal food, I'll get the food for assholes."

Clever. Betty thinks to herself, even though she wouldn't admit it to Jughead. She doesn't want him to think that she supports his behavior in any way.

"So what's our plan exactly?" he asks Betty for what feels like the millionth time. Somehow she persuaded him to come to the restaurant with her without telling him what exactly they were going to do there and it worried him. For someone who looks like she would come up with a step by step instructions for him, being weirdly secretive about the whole operation and he's starting to regret his decision to trust her with it. So why did he?

"For starters, I think we need to take a look around the manager's office. If there really is anything shady going on here, there must be some proof about it. And where else would it be hidden?" she explains simply.

"And how do we plan on doing that without being caught?" The skepticism is obvious in Jughead's voice. He wishes thigs were as simple as Betty makes them seem but he expect them to be anything but that.

"Well, I haven't gotten that far into that plan. But I'm sure we can figure that out as we go." She shrugs nonchalantly, her eyes scanning the room and the employers, trying to notice anything unusual. On the inside she's everything but calm, but that's not something Jughead needs to know.

"What?" Jughead exclaims. "You want us to break and enter, but that's the only part of the plan you have? I knew I shouldn't have trusted you." He wasn't happy about the idea of co-operating with Betty from the very first moment and while he eventually warmed up to it, suddenly he is back to regretting to ever agree to it.

"Calm down," Betty shushes him immediately, not wanting to draw any attention to them. She's quite nervous about the lack of plan herself, but the excitement of going on a sleuthing mission surpasses it. She has some experience with it from high school when one of her teachers was acting particularly shady and Betty discovered that she was having an inappropriate relationship with a student. But that was years ago and nothing as big that Betty could investigate has happened since. Which makes the opportunity to put her detective as well as improvisation skills into use once again that much more exciting. Even if it means working alongside Jughead, who has proven to be surprisingly useful when he found someone who was going to test samples of food they were planning to take from the restaurant. "I figured that we can't plan too much ahead when we don't know what we will see and find here. We'll just have to wing it a little."

"Fantastic," Jughead mutters under his breath. Unlike Betty, he has very minimal experience with investigation of any kind. He observes and creates theories in his mind, but never actually goes out there to confirm them. Therefore the idea of improvisation makes him nervous, but he sure as hell won't admit it. He will just have to play along with whatever Betty comes up with and hope for the best. Even if he doesn't want to trust her.

Less than an hour later they find themselves in a deserted and weird smelling corridor with two doors. The first leading to a tiny broom closet, the other one, most likely an office. Jughead isn't sure how Betty assumed they would find something there, but he had little choice when she grabbed him by his sleeve and pulled him towards the corridor with her, muttering something about him being too slow and not blending in with the crowd enough.

"It's locked," Jughead says defiantly, but he isn't exactly surprised. If it is, in fact, an office, the person it belongs to would be a fool to leave it unlocked when it's so easily accessible to anyone. What does surprise him is when he sees Betty pulling out two bobby pins out of her hair and the next thing he knows she is nudging him with his elbow to move out of the way. "What kind of Nancy Drew shit is this?" he asks as he watches her push the bobby pins into the lock. He would never guess that the overly sweet acting and pastel cardigan wearing woman knows how to pick a lock with a hair accessory. To be honest he finds it incredibly hot, but this isn't the time and place to ponder that.

"Have you not come prepared for this at all?" Betty asks and a minute later the door clicks open and she smiles triumphantly. "Guard the door and if you see someone coming, just kick it," she says firmly and before Jughead can protest or ask her anything else, she enters the small office. For a few minutes he's nervously stepping from one foot to another, trying to peek around the corner of the dimly lit corridor. He's not sure how much time has passed when he sees a man walking in their direction and he quickly kicks the door like Betty told him to, hoping she had enough time to find something that would help them and that this whole trip wouldn't have been for nothing.

A few second after his signal Betty slips out and shuts the door behind her. Before she even has the chance to ask Jughead what's going on, he's already pushing her against the nearest wall, his lips pressing against hers as the tall, bald man approaches them.

"What are you two doing here?" he asks, annoyance evident in his voice as he spots the couple leaning against the wall, their lips pressed together and their arms wrapped around each other.

"We were just..." Jughead pulls away, his arms still resting on Betty's hips and acts surprised when he hears the man's voice. Based on the photo on the internet, it's the new owner of the restaurant and the room Betty escaped from just moments ago is most likely his office.

"Looking for some privacy," Betty finishes for him, running her hand across Jughead's chest in an exaggerated way, her face bright red.

"Yeah, my girl here got a bit hungry for more than just food. If you know what I mean." Jughead winks at the man whose face turns in disgust, but he doesn't question their reasoning. Where did that come from? Jughead asks himself, surprised by his sudden improvisation skills.

"If you wanna fuck each other like rabbits, find a different place. This is a restaurant," the man says angrily. "And this corridor is for employees only. You shouldn't even be here."

"Sorry. It won't happen again." Jughead raises his hand apologetically before wrapping his arm around Betty's waist again and leading her back to the sitting area. They quickly pay their bill for the barely touched food, not wanting to draw any more attention to themselves than they already have.

"So, have you found anything?" Jughead asks when they finally get out of the restaurant, not daring to inquire before they are out of earshot of the employees.

"I think so." Betty bites her lip, wondering whether there was something in there that she could've missed. After their little encounter with the owner, they surely couldn't dare to go back again. "There were some documents that looked particularly shady, but I didn't have the time to actually read them all so I just took photos of them."

"That's awesome." Jughead gives her a wide smile and they both wonder whether it's the first time his smile for her isn't laced with malice or sarcasm. "We need to look at them as soon as possible."

"They're already on your email," Betty says, already a step ahead and she notices the corners of his mouth jerk up once again. He has to admit that she quite surprised him today. Bossing someone around didn't seem typical for her, yet it somehow worked.

"I live just a few block from here. Why don't we go to my apartment and check them right away?" he asks, the enthusiasm evident in his voice. He has never thought journalism could bring him so much thrill. Even though he has been mostly just watching the door and pretending to make out with Betty - the latter of which he didn't expect to do but enjoyed nonetheless, his adrenaline is running high.

"Is Jughead Jones inviting me to his apartment?" Betty raises her eyebrows mockingly.

"I know how it sounds. But I promise I won't try to kill you or take your honor or whatever it is that you're worried about."

"I'm not worried. Just surprised." She wants to throw in a remark about how she didn't know that hell allowed mere mortals like her to visit, but she bites her lip and smiles instead. "Lead the way."

They walk in relative silence the whole time, neither of them mentioning the fake kiss nor the little show following it. Betty suspects he doesn't want her to mention it or read too much into it. So she tries not to and instead she attempts to go through the whole evening in her head once again, trying to remember anything odd or suspicious.

Jughead, on the other hand, is doing everything he can to try to justify the kiss and can't think of anything else. Unlike the first time, when he simply wasn't able to control himself, this time he did it for the good of their mission. He may not have seen as many detective shows as Betty, but he knows that when two people on TV find themselves in a situation like they did, public displays of affection is a sure way to take attention away from what they were actually doing. Yes, the sudden improvisation skills are to fault. Definitely not the sparkle of Betty's green eyes or the lavender scent that's always following her.

When they reach the corridor leading to Jughead's apartment, there's a rather young looking woman sitting against his door, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Her long dark hair is messy as if she kept running her hand through it and she's wringing a tissue in her hand, her whole body trembling with quiet sobs.

"JB? What happened?" Jughead asks alarmed as he rushes to the door and pulls the dark haired girl into his arms. Betty has no idea what's going on, but she's sure she has never seen Jughead so distraught.

"I broke up with Jordan," the girl says when he finally lets go off her and tears rush into her eyes once again.

"What did he do? Did he hurt you? I will kill that son of a..." The worried expression on Jughead's face turns into rage in a second as he examines his sister for any injuries.

"No!" Jellybean interrupts him and puts her hand on his shoulder, as if to stop him from running away to beat up her ex-boyfriend right that moment. "He wouldn't raise a hand on me," she says, shaking her head. "But he did cheat on me," she whispers the last few words and wipes her eyes, biting her trembling lip in an effort to stop herself from crying, but not succeeding. "With Tracy of all people. So now I can't go back to the apartment. I just can't face them both right now." She sobs, her hand holding tight onto Jughead's jacket. "Juggie, please, can I crash with you for the night?"

"Of course. As long as you need." Jughead says and squeezes her hand, his face changing from angry to soft once again and Betty must admit she has never seen him like this. Like he actually cares for someone. It's a much better look on him than the constant scowling.

"I, uh, suppose we should leave it for tomorrow," Betty breaks the silence that fell between the two siblings. She feels awkward to interrupt this moment, but she has a feeling that Jughead forgot she was even there.

"Oh, shit, I'm sorry!" Jughead exclaims, suddenly remembering that it isn't just him and Jellybean standing in the hallway. Seeing his sister in tears completely made him forget about the blonde he was bringing to his apartment in the first place. "This is JB, my sister." He points to the raven haired girl in a band T-shirt. "JB, this is Betty Cooper, my colleague from Clickfeed."

"Nice to meet you, JB," Betty says and extends her hand to the girl. She knows better than to question what the initials stand for. The Joneses seem to have a thing for weird nicknames, she supposes.

"The Betty Cooper?" Jellybean raises her eyebrows amusedly, the tears staining her face forgotten for a moment as her eyes dart between her brother and the preppy looking woman that Jughead has told her about so many times.

"You've heard of me?" Betty furrows her brows, not sure whether it's a good thing or not. She assumes the latter.

"Oh yeah." Jellybean grins, remembering all the times Jughead ranted to her about the blonde from his work that was infuriating him.

"JB, don't..." Jughead tries to interrupt her. He knows that in waves of frustration he has told his sister many terrible things about Betty. None of which he wants her to hear about right now.

"My brother hates you. But I suppose you know all about that." JB says and Jughead feels his face growing hot. It's one thing when it's just him and Betty throwing insults at each other, but hearing that he hates her from someone else's mouth makes him feel like an asshole. A bigger asshole than usually. And for once, that's not the impression he wants to go for.

"Can't say I haven't noticed." Betty smirks, the blush on Jughead's face deepening slightly as he avoids her eyes. Certainly not a look she sees on him often. "But the feeling is mutual." She grins at him teasingly and they all fall silent for a second. "I really should get going though."

"Are you sure you don't wanna..." Jughead gestures towards the door. He's not sure what exactly he's proposing, but he doesn't want the successful evening of investigation to end just yet, the adrenaline still pumping through his veins.

"No. It's all good. We can do it tomorrow." She quickly bids them goodbye and promises Jellybean to kick her boyfriend's ass if she ever needs that before they part ways.

"Are you two hooking up?" Jellybean asks the moment the apartment door closes behind them. "I'm sorry if I interrupted something."

"What? No!" Jughead exclaims, wonder what gave her the impression. "I hate her, remember?"

"So? Hate sex is a thing. There's a very thin line between wanting to kill someone and wanting to fuck them." She shrugs and walks over to the fridge, hoping her brother has some food. She had been waiting for him for over two hours and that's way too long for any Jones to go without food.

"I'm not talking to you about my sex life," he says, hoping to put an end to that conversation. Not that there is much to say in the first place.

"So there is something to talk about?" She quirks her eyebrow at him in a typical Jones fashion. "I can tell you about mine if it makes you feel better about it."

"Eww, no! I don't wanna think about my little sister doing anything like that. Ever." Jughead scrunches up his face in disgust. "And no, there's nothing going on between Betty and I."

"Oh, so she's Betty now. Not the preppy girl? The brown noser?" A teasing grin spreads across Jellybean's face. It's been a while since there was a woman in Jughead's life to tease him about so she's enjoying the situation immensely.

"She..." Jughead starts, not sure how to describe his current feelings for Betty. He doesn't understand them himself. "...may not be as terrible as I've always thought," he concludes simply, even though it's everything but simple for him. A lot has changed between them recently, that's for sure. But it's not something he can describe.

"Aww, haters to lovers. My favorite kind of trope." JB claps her hand excitedly, her own issues momentarily forgotten when she sees her brother's face turning red.

"Shut up!" he exclaims as he feels his cheeks getting hotter. He's not sure whether he feels embarrassed about the idea of liking Betty, or because his emotions are so easily readable on his face. He'd like to believe that neither of these two is true. "It's nothing like that."

"Whatever you say." JB gives him a wink and a knowing look. Her brother may be lying to himself and everyone around him, but the way he looked at Betty spoke more than his words.

When Betty comes home that night, she has to fight the urge to look through the photos she took earlier that evening. She wants to wait until the next day and go over all of the evidence with Jughead.

Jughead who has kissed her twice now. She knows it's silly to even count the second kiss. It was a cover up. A way to save their mission from blowing up. But fake kiss or not, it doesn't change the way that memory makes her stomach flutter. The memory of how he looked at her the second before his lips touched hers. Like he was asking for permission and apologizing at the same time. Neither of which she's used to when it comes to him. She noticed how his hands fit on her hips perfectly as if they always belonged there, making her wonder how those strong hands would feel on other parts of her body. If it would be anything like in those dreams of hers that were less frequent now, but still equally erotic.

Betty knows she wasn't supposed to enjoy the kiss. She shouldn't be still thinking about it. But she is. And somehow, this time, she doesn't hate herself for it. Seeing Jughead interact with his sister makes her think that maybe he isn't a complete selfish asshole after all. Even if that's the role he tries to play.

Later that night Jughead finds himself staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. At first he tells himself it's because he offered his bed to his sister and the couch he is currently occupying is too small and uncomfortable. But when his thoughts wander back to Betty for what feels like a hundredth time, he admits she's the reason he can't turn his mind off and just go to sleep.

These past few weeks they spent working together changed something. Somehow, seeing her face, hearing her voice or even thinking about her doesn't fill him with inexplicable hatred anymore. Instead, he feels his heart beating faster, his stomach clenching. He no longer spends his time around her trying to find the perfect insult, instead he finds himself noticing the way she bites the corner of her lip when she's thinking hard about something and how her eyes sparkle with joy whenever they get closer to cracking the case they're working on. Some may say he's falling in love. But how would he know if he has never been in love?


	7. Chapter 7

**As always, thank you to everyone who commented, I love reading your opinions and guesses on what happens next. So please, keep them coming :)**

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The following morning Betty comes to work with more enthusiasm than she's had since she first started the job. She didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night because her mind kept wandering back to what they found at the restaurant as well as what they could've missed. She wishes she had had more time to look around, but despite that she has a good feeling about the mission. It has reminded her why she decided to study journalism in the first place and while her current job hasn't allowed her to do much of what she truly enjoys, she's pretty positive this might be the turning point she's been hoping for.

When Jughead finally arrives to work it's an hour later than he's supposed to be there, but given the fact that he managed to turn off his alarm without even waking up he assumes it's a success he was able to wake up before noon. All the credit for that has to go to his sister, who overnight decided she is going to move out of the apartment she was sharing with her boyfriend and her backstabbing friend and will continue to crash with Jughead at least until her semester ends.

"Do you have any concept of time?" Betty's voice startles him, not noticing she's sitting in his office chair until he gets to his desk.

"Geez, what are you doing here?" he asks in confusion. The decision to go over their newly found evidence seemed to have slipped his mind in the rush of the morning.

"The photos, the evidence, restaurant. Does that ring any bell?" Betty raises her eyebrows, wondering how Jughead isn't buzzing with excitement and instead looks like he just rolled out of bed. Not that it doesn't look good on him. But that's a thought for another day. Or better yet, never.

"Right, right." Jughead rubs his face, trying to chase the sleepiness away, the coffee JB made him to go not quite kicking in yet.

"Okay, let's look at it." She claps her hands in excitement and starts opening the photos with a few clicks of the mouse.

"Will you at least let me in my chair?"

"Nope." She shakes her head and a playful smile forms on her lips.

"So they're buying food that is of low quality if not dangerous to save money, just so they have to pay off the authorities to even keep the restaurant open?" Betty reads of her notepad that is covered in arrows and bubbles she drew in her attempt to connect all the information they've gathered during their sleuthing mission.

As it turned out, the documents Betty took pictures of the previous night contained information of several different deals that the owner of the restaurant made, ranging from wrong to illegal. "Why would they do that? And why would they even keep the documents of that where anyone can find them?"

"Because they're fucking idiots?" Jughead shrugs his shoulders, unable to come up with a better response. "The guy probably didn't account for someone with Nancy Drew skills to break in and look through his stuff that easily." He grins, his mind wandering back to the moment when Betty used her hair accessory to break into a locked office. Something he's still equally baffled and impressed by.

"You certainly didn't." Betty smirks and winks at him, instantly regretting the decision. She didn't want it to seem like she was flirting. Or did she? _No, it's still Jughead. I hate him._ She mentally scolds herself and tries to remember what they were talking about.

Jughead stares at her silently for a few seconds, trying to decipher her actions. Is she flirting? Does he want her to? "Anyway," he says after a moment and shakes his head, willing the thoughts away. "I guess they've must've had some profit from it at least."

"Money, the almighty motivator." Betty sighs and starts rubbing her temples, hoping to come up with a better reason for making dozens of people sick than earning extra money.

"Isn't it always?" He sinks deeper into his chair and taps his pen against his own notepad as he tries to think of a different theory. Just like Betty he wishes the reasoning behind all of this mess was better than the fact that one greedy, morally inept asshole thought he could get away with using food that wasn't fit for consumption.

"I thought cracking the case would feel more..." Betty trails off, not sure how exactly to express her disappointment.

"Satisfying?" Jughead finishes for her and she nods. "Yeah, me too."

It takes them several days and a few calls to the authorities to pull all the information together. As it not only exposes the restaurant and its manager, but also the people who were supplying the restaurant with ingredients of unsatisfying quality, the articles turns out to be much longer than either of them expected at the beginning. They work side by side for hours, but aside from bickering about who should cover which part of the story they are both surprised by how easy it is for them to cooperate for once. As it turns out, Betty has a great eye for detail, catching all the unnecessary semicolons that Jughead likes to use so much and nudging him in the right direction, while he has a knack for capturing the harsh reality of the story in a way that even their boss shouldn't be able to criticize.

"Why did he call us here if he's making us wait now?" Jughead groans as he and Betty sit outside of Weatherbee's office. While their boss was very supportive of the idea of writing an article about a restaurant that was causing a lot of people to fall sick, Jughead started getting nervous that in the end he wouldn't like the final result and wouldn't allow it to be published. After all, he usually tries to control all the content Jughead puts out, making sure his reviews are as positive as possible to not offend anyone. Jughead hates the censorship, but for now it's the best way to earn living by doing what he enjoys. So when Weatherbee called them to their office to discuss their work just to let them wait outside for half an hour, Jughead can't help feeling more and more nervous. He doesn't want all the hard work to come to nothing, but especially, he doesn't want the truth they discovered to stay hidden.

"It can't be anything good, can it?" Betty asks, trying not to let her anxiety show as she grips the armrests of her chair until her knuckles are white. A couple of years ago the palms of her hands would be covered in blood by now, but she's determined to not fall back down that hole again. No matter how stressful or nerve-wracking her job gets.

Jughead notices the way Betty is clenching her fingers around the armrest in nervousness and almost reaches out to comfort her before deciding against it. "No matter what he says, I won't let him stop us from publishing this story. We worked hard on this and people deserve to know the truth," he says with determination. He has never put this much time and effort into an article. Never been this passionate about his job. He sure as hell won't let anyone stop him now.

Betty gives him a brief nod, silently agreeing to support his decision. She knows this might be the defining moment in her career. The article that helps her to finally move forward what she actually wants to do rather than work on the stuff that nobody cares about. The make it or break it moment.

Betty's thoughts are interrupted when a dark haired woman strolls towards her, calling her name in an annoying sing-song tone. "Hey, Betty, I'm sorry to bother you," she starts, pulling a fake apologetic face. "But I really don't think I'll be able to finish editing that article by deadline. I need to take my cat to the vet today because she's terribly sick. Would you mind finishing it for me?"

"Oh, no, poor cat." Betty clutches her hand to her chest. "Of course, I'll get right…"

"She can't," Jughead interrupts them before Betty has a chance to agree to do their coworker's job for her. "Sorry, Ginger." He shrugs in apology, though the grin on his face says he's not sorry at all. "Do your own work for once."

"But…" Ginger says, taken aback. "I can't… I have to…"

"You'll figure it out." Jughead waves his hand at her, letting her know that their conversation is over.

"What are you doing?" Betty turns to him with an annoyed look on her face. "She needed help."

"No, she didn't." Jughead shakes his head. "She comes to you at least twice a month, saying she can't make the deadline because she knows you'll do it for her. She's using you and you don't even realize it."

"I…" Betty starts, trying to defend herself, but she knows Jughead is right. By now, everyone in the office know that she is the go-to girl if they need any kind of help. And Betty, in her attempt to be always nice and helpful, ends up offering to do it for them.

Her thoughts are interrupted once again when their boss finally opens the door to call them inside. "Miss Cooper, Mr. Jones, come in," he says and Betty and Jughead exchange a nervous look before bolting from their seats and stepping inside the office.

"A series of articles?" Jughead repeats Weatherbee's words to make sure he didn't just dream them. Just a few minutes ago he was worrying that the head of Clickfeed wouldn't be interested in the article that he and Betty worked on for weeks and he was preparing himself for the inevitable disappointment. But instead he is asking them to write more stuff in which they could uncover dirty business going on behind the closed doors of New York restaurants and fast foods.

"Well of course only if you're interested in that. And if this article gets the amount of attention I predict it will," Weatherbee adds after a second. "But I'm very optimistic about it."

"We'll definitely consider it," Betty replies quickly, as if hesitation may change Weatherbee's mind. She has no idea whether Jughead is interested in continuing to work with her or even in pursuing investigative journalism. After all, he has seemed pretty content with writing his food reviews so far. But Betty knows she can't let this opportunity slip through her fingers.

"Great. If you don't have any further questions, that's all from me."

"Oh my god," Jughead whispers once they leave Weatherbee's office, still baffled about what just happened.

"We did it!" Betty squeals excitedly and throws her arms around Jughead. She was trying to suppress her feelings in front of their boss, but once the door of his office closed, her happiness came out. "Oh, I'm sorry. You're definitely not a hug person." Betty blushes, realizing that wrapping her arms around Jughead in her wave of happiness probably wasn't the right thing to do. She pulls away slightly, though her hands still linger on his arms. _Where did he get all that muscle from?_ She wonders, feeling the firm biceps under her fingers that make her forget the reason she hugged him in the first place.

"I uh..." Jughead mutters, his brain unable to string a coherent sentence as his eyes rest on Betty's lips. Full, pink and perfectly kissable. Oh how much he wants to kiss them. She must be wearing some sort of mind numbing perfume because when she stands this close to him he's not able to think straight. Or perhaps it's just the wide smile that is currently spread across her face. He doesn't think he has ever seen her look so happy and even if he only had a tiny role in making her feel this way, a small part of him feels satisfied. Which only confuses him more. "No, it's okay. I don't mind," he finally manages to let out something resembling an answer but she still pulls away, dropping her hands, suddenly unsure what to do with them.

"I'm just… excited. I didn't think... I didn't expect him to like it so much. And a series of articles? I just… This is what I've been waiting for the whole time but I'm also overwhelmed and…" she rambles on nervously and Jughead bites back a laugh. The only words he could use to describe her at that moment is _adorable_. He never thought it's a quality he would find attractive, especially with regards to Betty, but today is a day of many firsts.

He touches her arm gently and she finally stops talking, her gaze meeting his and he notices her eyes are sparkling even more than usually. "It's gonna be great." Jughead smiles, finally letting it all sink in and for once he actually believes it.

After weeks of spending long hours in the office, trying to piece bits of information together into more or less possible theories Jughead feels like he finally deserves to leave early. So when the clock strikes three, he quickly gathers all his stuff into a messenger bag and quickly checks his desk one more time before heading towards the exit. "Jughead, wait!" He hears the familiar voice the second his hand touches the doorknob.

"What's up? Weatherbee didn't change his mind, did he?" he asks, slightly worried. It would be typical for things to go to shit the moment something goes well for him.

"No, thank god. He still seems just as enthusiastic about it as he was this morning." Betty smiles at him reassuringly. "This has nothing to do with him."

"Okay, I'm listening." He adjusts the strap on his shoulder and cocks his head to the side, watching as Betty nervously pulls on the sleeve of her cardigan.

"I was thinking... Now that the article is finished, we may go for a real dinner. To a proper safe restaurant." Air gets stuck in Jughead's lungs and he can't hide the surprise on his face. Is Betty Cooper asking him on a date? No, that surely couldn't be right. "As a celebration. And maybe, a peace offering," she adds quickly.

Ever since they started working on the article together, Betty has felt that Jughead was warming up to her presence. His insults and their fights growing further and further apart. She may have been imagining it, or maybe for once he was trying to be a professional and put his hate for her aside for the sake of his work. But if there was a chance that they could stop the childish war against them, she wanted to take that chance. Now that she sees the blank stare on his face, she's starting to doubt that decision. _He probably can't wait to get away from you._ A pang of insecurity squeezes her chest.

"Peace offering?" Jughead raises his eyebrows in surprise, ignoring the pang of disappointment in his chest. _Of course she doesn't want to go on a date with you, you idiot._ He gives himself a mental slap and tries to focus back on her question. While he definitely felt a shift in his feelings towards during the last few weeks, a part of him expected things to go back to how they were before. Of course now with the possibility of them working together continuing into the future, it only made sense she would try to put a stop to their constant fighting.

"I hate to admit it, but in the end we seemed to work pretty well together," she says, trying to appear nonchalant. If her turns her down, she can't let her disappointment show. "Maybe if we put more effort into that and less into actively hating each other, we could get out of this shit hole one day."

Jughead laughs at her choice of words, but completely understands what she means. Clickfeed is certainly not the place where he imagines himself in five years. And if Betty can help him get out of there, so be it. "I guess I can give it a try." He shrugs his shoulders, a small smile spreading on his lips. "I suppose we may be working together a lot in the near future. Besides, I can never say no to a free dinner."

"I never said it was my treat." Betty crosses her arms and scowls at him playfully, weight suddenly lifted off her chest.

"Too late. I already agreed to it." He gives her a cheeky grin and she rolls her eyes. "And I'm picking the restaurant."

"I'll be expecting the best then," she says with a wink, this time more than deliberate, and Jughead suddenly feels his face growing hot. Betty Cooper is making him feel things he's not sure how to deal with but maybe it's time he does.

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 **So, Betty and Jughead are planning to go on another not date date, what will it entail? Will they finally admit their feelings? Let me know what you think ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to everyone who commented on the previous chapters. Today I'm bringing you a chapter that is a bit longer than usual as Betty and Jughead are heading to a non-date date. What will it bring?**

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"I still can't believe you asked him on a date," Veronica says excitedly as she wraps a strand of Betty's hair around a curling iron.

"It's not a date." Betty rolls her eyes. She knew that her best friend would make a big deal out of it when she told her that she and Jughead were going to dinner together. But it was not meant to be a date. She doubts Jughead would agree to it. Though after Veronica's initial freaking out, Betty started to wonder whether he did think it was a date. And whether she wants it to be. "We were working really hard on this article. And now that the investigation is over, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate it."

"When you started working on it together, you couldn't stand that guy. Now you're trying to spend more time with him outside of work? You may not want to call it a date, but I think you're catching some feelings for him." Veronica grins and runs her fingers through Betty's hair to loosen up the curls. "And I'm not saying you have to start dating him. But at least get some celebratory sex out of it."

"Veronica!" Betty exclaims and swats her friend's hand away. "I'm not gonna have sex with him. That one kiss haunted me long enough. I don't need things to be awkward between us again," she says and her face grows red as she thinks back at the kiss she and Jughead shared a couple of weeks ago. She tried so hard to forget about it. To pretend nothing ever happened just like Jughead told her to. But it was impossible. And the moment she thought she was getting over it, he kissed her again. Of course that brief kiss at the restaurant was just a cover and she couldn't read much into it, but ever since that night all the feelings she tried to push away before came flooding back and they were even stronger. Not that it made them any more understandable. She knows something has shifted in the way she looks at Jughead, but she doesn't know what she wants from him and even if she did, it seems unlikely he would want the same. Even though he's not a complete asshole to her all the time anymore, he also doesn't seem to show any more interest in her than he did before. Or at least she hasn't really noticed. He can be a very hard person to read. And Betty doesn't want to make a fool out of herself by assuming he's interested. Despite how hot the kiss was, it was most likely just a moment of passion caused by their fighting rather than anything else. Right?

"If I recall correctly it was a heavy make out session and not just a single kiss. And secondly, so what if things get awkward? You'll get over it." Veronica waves her hand dramatically. "But I need to know if this brooding emo guy you've been telling me about for months is as good in bed as I imagine."

"I'm never telling you anything. Ever again." Betty folds her arms and glares at her best friend. "And I doubt he's interested," she adds, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Sure you're not." Veronica grins at her in the mirror. "Well you're a total smoke show tonight. He'll be stupid to not at least try."

"You really can't lose that hat even when you're going on a date?" JB asks from the couch when Jughead emerges from his room, heading towards the full length mirror that hangs by the front door.

"It's not a date," Jughead repeats for what feels like the hundredth time. At this point he's not sure whether it's more to persuade himself or his sister. It's not like either of them is buying it anyway. "And the hat is a part of my style."

"What style is that?" The brunette scoffs, watching her brother with amusement. "Emo hipster?"

"Oh, shut up," Jughead mutters, readjusting the dark curl that somehow always manages to escape his beanie. It's been over twenty-four hours since Betty invited him to dinner and he's pretty sure his stomach hasn't stopped flipping. It's not like he lacked experience. For some reason girls found his gloomy appearance and sardonic humor surprisingly endearing. Even if he never managed to keep a relationship going for more than a few weeks. But going out with someone he already knew, someone he may have had one or two dirty thoughts about was different. Even more so when Betty suggested it as a purely friendly matter. He doesn't know how to make friends. Especially out of people he had seen as enemies until recently. What are they even going to talk about? Does she expect him to walk her home afterward? Questions he has no answer to keep popping up in his head.

He adjusts the collar of his flannel shirt, wondering whether he's too dressed down. The restaurant he picked is not fancy, but he expects Betty to be all dolled up. After all, she always is. What if she wears a skirt? The last time he saw her in a skirt, he could barely keep it in his pants. The memory of her body pressed to his as he pushed her against the kitchen cabinets and kissed her senseless fills his mind. It was a moment of weakness. She wants to forget it and so should he.

"God, you're a mess." Jellybean's laugh pulls him out of his thoughts. "Whatever happens, don't forget to text me if you're bringing her over. As much as I'm rooting for you two to finally get it on, I don't wanna witness it."

When Jughead arrives to the restaurant Betty is already waiting outside, looking more beautiful than ever. Her hair falling around her shoulders in soft waves, the sunset making her look like an angel. Jughead gulps as his eyes trail up and down her body. She's wearing a pastel pink dress, the skirt barely reaching mid-thigh and he already knows it will be a challenging evening for him.

"Hey," Jughead says as he steps closer to her, trying hard to maintain eye contact and not let his eyes slide lower. "I hope I'm not late."

"Nope, I've just arrived," Betty replies with a beaming smile that makes his chest contract.

He wonders how he has managed to work in the same company as Betty for months and not feel like this until recently. Then again, he never really gave her a reason to smile at him like this. "You um... You look very nice today."

"Thank you," she replies, a blush creeping up her cheeks. "You look quite handsome yourself." She bites her lip as she shamelessly checks him out. While his outfits isn't too different from what he usually wears, a plaid shirt and dark jeans, somehow he looks more polished. Like he put a lot of effort into it. Betty feels her cheeks growing hotter as she thinks about it, but she quickly dismisses that thought. They are going to a nice looking restaurant. That's surely the reason he tries to look extra good. Not because he's trying to impress her. That's also why she put in an effort. Well, at least partially why.

"Shall we?" he asks pointing towards the entrance and she nods.

"It looks very nice in here," Betty says as she looks around while the usher leads them to their table.

"It is." Jughead nods as he pulls out the chair for her and she smiles at the gesture. "And the food is to die for," he adds as he takes a seat across from her.

"Hopefully not literally," she quips.

"Don't you trust my recommendation?" He grins at her, cocking his head to the side. Now that her long legs are hidden beneath the table he feels like he can breathe a bit more easily.

"I do. But how do I know you didn't bring me here to get rid of me so you can take all the credit for our article?" She narrows her eyes at him and bites her lip to stop herself from laughing when Jughead pretends to look offended.

"You were the one who called it a peace offering. Shouldn't you have a bit more fate in me then?" he answers with a question.

Instead of replying she just smiles at him and Jughead feels his stomach clench harder. Shortly after they're interrupted by a waitress that brings them their menus and while Betty quickly starts scanning hers, Jughead keeps his closed, knowing exactly what he wants to order.

Betty can feel his eyes on her the whole time, but doesn't let it show and instead tries to focus on all the different meals the restaurant has to offer. "So, Mr. I know all the best food in New York, what can you recommend?" she asks after a moment, unsure what to order. While Betty loves to cook and experiment in her own kitchen, when it comes to eating out or ordering take out, she always goes for the same few things.

"How about you show your trust in me by letting me order for you?" he suggests and after a moment of hesitation Betty agrees. She's a bit worried about what Jughead may have in store for her, but lets out a sigh of relief when he places the order for both of them as 'his usual'. If one of New York's favorite food critics likes the food, then it surely can't be bad.

While they wait for the food they resort to talking about the restaurant and their work, trying to predict the impact their article may have. Both highly aware of the fact that they've never had a non-work related conversation that didn't end in a fight of some sort, they try to stick to safe topics at least for a moment. After all, tonight they're supposed to turn over a new leaf and hopefully embark on a new kind of relationship. Even if neither of them really knows what kind that is.

"Is this just a fancy version of a burger?" Betty asks once the waitress who brought them food is out of earshot, cocking her eyebrow. On the plate in front of her there is a beef patty, some vegetables and a golden brown bun, all covered in cheese and a delicious smelling sauce that makes her mouth water instantly.

"It's called a deconstructed burger and it's the best thing ever," Jughead explains. "Well right after a regular burger."

"Then why are we here and not in a regular fast food?" she inquires.

"I didn't take you for someone who would want to go to a fast food," he answers simply, shrugging his shoulders. "It isn't fancy enough."

"You really don't know me at all, do you?" she says only half-jokingly. A lot of their fights have been based on assuming things about the other person and while some of them might be true, they never really bothered to get to know each other.

"Well..." Jughead starts, not sure what to say in his defense. He knows that Betty is right. That he doesn't actually know anything about her. He only knows people like her. Or people he assumes she belongs to. "I could say the same for you though."

"True." She nods before taking a bite of her food and chewing thoughtfully for a few seconds. As the rich flavor spreads across her tongue, she can't deny that if Jughead is good at judging anything, it's definitely food. "For starters, I don't even know your real name," she continues once the initial astonishment of the food fades away. "I highly doubt your parents actually called you Jughead."

 _That's not an information I usually disclose on a first date._ He almost says, but stops himself in time and grins at her instead. "You couldn't have picked an easier question to start with?"

"That bad, huh?" Betty giggles, trying to think of names that could be so bad that Jughead wouldn't want to share them.

"Worse."

"Well, you don't have to tell me. But if you don't, I'll just keep trying to guess it, Horace," she says, closely watching for his reaction, but his face is still as stone. "Okay, maybe you're not Horace so how about Cyril? Cyril Jones sounds like a name you may despise."

Jughead laughs at her futile attempts and shakes his head. "It's neither of those and I really don't think you can guess it."

"You have no faith in me. I'll give it one more try." Betty bites her lip as she thinks hard for a couple of seconds, trying to think of the strangest yet believable sounding name. "How about... Alastor."

"Does that name even exist outside of the Harry Potter universe?" He scoffs and scrunches up his face. "I'm no Mad Eye Moody."

"You are pretty moody, though." Betty sticks out her tongue at him playfully and he can't help but laugh at her antics. "So just tell me, because I can keep coming up with ugly names all night long."

"Okay, okay." He raises his hands in mock defeat. "But only if you swear to never use it and never tell anyone about it."

"I don't think I can swear to that. But I can promise to try. Unless you give me a reason not to," she adds the last sentence with a grin.

Jughead thinks about it for a moment, wondering why he's even considering sharing this information with Betty. Kids in school gave him enough crap for his name and while the nickname Jughead wasn't the best one either, over the years he tried to stick to it as much as possible. But there is something about Betty. Like a gut feeling. Instead unlike all the other times when it told him to stay away from her and her smile that was too wide to be real, it tells him he can trust her. And maybe he's an idiot to trust his feeling this time, but the smirk on Betty's face makes his stomach clench so hard he would do anything at the moment if it meant he could keep this moment forever. "It's Forsythe," he mumbles finally, averting his eyes and he feels his face slowly turning a crimson shade of red. "Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third, to be exact."

"For-what?" Betty covers her mouth with her hands as she tries to stop herself from bursting into laughter. "I'm so sorry. I just..." She reaches out to place her hand over his in comfort. "You're right, I never would've guessed. But to be honest, I had some even worse on my list," she says with a giggle.

"That's hard to believe." Jughead laughs and shakes his head.

"I appreciate you telling me," she adds with a smile and notices a faint blush raising on his cheeks. Despite their mutual hate, Betty has always found Jughead attractive. Hot even. But now the best word she could use to describe him is cute and she wonders whether it's because he's finally letting his walls down a little.

"How about we move on from this topic? I feel violated enough."

"Alright." Betty shrugs her shoulder. While seeing Jughead embarrassed may be her new favorite thing, she feels it's only fair he gets to ask her something personal as well. "I got my answer. It's your turn now."

"Why Clickfeed?" Jughead asks after a second of consideration. "Or rather, why have you stayed so long even though you have to work in that god-awful position? Nobody _really_ wants to work there."

"I believe that working hard will bring you what you want. So I guess I assumed that I would spend a few weeks writing stupid articles before someone noticed I'm better than that," Betty answers simply. She has given it a lot of thought and even though her decision may seem silly, she's still trying to believe that her hard work will eventually pay off. After all, it finally seems to be happening. "Like maybe it could be that terrible first job where I gain my experience before I move on to something I actually want to do."

"You may have watched The Devil Wears Prada too many times," Jughead murmurs and shakes his head. While working with her, he noticed that Betty's talents are being wasted at their company and the question why she's even there keeps popping into his mind frequently. Then again, he likes to hope for a more fulfilling job in his future as well. But for the time being it's almost good enough.

"The Devil Wears Prada?" Betty cocks her eyebrow with an amused grin. "Is Jughead Jones a secret chick flick fan?"

"Is that your next question?"

Betty shakes her head with a smirk. "I think I know the answer already."

"Well just for the record, my sister made me watch it with her," he says defensively. "But it's a pretty good movie."

"How is she? Your sister I mean. She seemed pretty upset that night I met her," Betty asks with concern. While she has only met Jughead's sister very briefly, she noticed how much he seemed to care about her. A side of him she's not used to seeing.

"She's... Alright. Given the circumstances. But she's staying with me until she can find some better roommates," he replies. "She's a tough cookie," he adds with a proud smile. There aren't that many things in his life that he can be proud of, but his sister definitely makes the top of the list and he feels somewhat satisfied with himself for helping to raise her.

"You are a good brother to her. I... I never would've guessed," she admits sheepishly. Betty always liked to hope that there is more under the tough, cold mask that Jughead wears, but it was only after she met Jellybean and saw the two of them interact that she truly started to believe it.

"Why? Because I'm such a dick to everyone else?" Jughead asks half-jokingly. He's very well aware of why Betty may think that. He wanted her to think that for a long time. Now, not so much.

"Well... Yeah." Betty laughs, not trying to deny it. "So why are you?" The question has been boggling her mind ever since she met him. Sure, not everyone was brought up like her and pushed into being nice to everyone all the time. Jughead, on the other hand, seemed to purposely make people hate him. And while it worked on her initially, given the chance to spend more time with him she quickly started to realize he was actually a fun person to be around. Which only made her question his intentions more.

"I don't go there to make friends. If everyone hates me, at least they don't bother me with anything and I can get my work done quicker." Not exactly the reason, but Jughead assumes it's true enough. His trust issues are not something he feels like discussing at the moment. "For me there is no point in pretending to be nice. I don't know how you do it."

"You think I'm pretending to be nice?" Betty asks, not sure whether she should be offended or not. Sure, her mother has been pushing her to be extremely polite and perfect her whole life, but Betty likes to believe that the niceness Jughead likes to mock her about has always been inside her. "Some of us are just naturally nice."

"There is no such thing." Jughead scoffs. "Nobody is nice without some hidden agenda. Trust me, I know."

"Oh, poor Juggie, everyone is out to get him," Betty says mockingly, but unlike all the other times when they were teasing each other, he doesn't immediately bite back, nor does he give her a cheeky grin with the promise of revenge.

 _Juggie._ The nickname nobody has used in over a decade makes him feel as if someone just poured a bucket of ice down his shirt. _"Oh, Juggie, you will turn out just like your father. There is no future for people like you."_ The words flash in front of his eyes so clearly he wonders whether someone in the restaurant actually said them. He has been trying to put it behind him. To ignore the words uttered by someone who clearly didn't care enough. But it only takes that one word to bring him back to why he despised the beautiful blonde in front of him in the first place. He suddenly feels stupid that he ever considered something good could come out of their interaction. Things have been going well for him for far too long and somewhere along the way he forgot to keep his walls up at all times.

"Earth to Jughead." Betty waves her hand in front of his eyes with a shy smile, but her face quickly grows serious when his blank stare turns into a frown.

"You don't know me at all," Jughead mutters under his breath and Betty isn't sure whether he's talking to her or himself.

"I think we established that already." Betty chuckles, hoping to lighten up the conversation again. "That's what we've been trying to change for the past half an hour."

"This was a mistake. I never should've thought..." he trails off while Betty stares at him silently, trying to figure out what is happening. Their conversation took a slightly more serious turn in the past couple of minutes, but surely there was no reason for Jughead to get upset with her, was there? Betty tries to track back her words to figure out what could've set him off, but her thoughts are quickly interrupted when Jughead suddenly stands up from his chair.

"What are you doing?" she asks and her eyes grow wider when he pulls out a bunch of bills from his pocket and sets them on the table.

"I can't be here," he answers simply, though he doesn't lift his gaze and she's still not sure whether he's talking to her or just voicing his thoughts out loud. Either way, he offers no explanation and walks away as quickly as possible without sparing her a single glance.

"Jughead, wait!" she yells after him, earning herself nasty stares from a couple of people sitting near her, but for once she doesn't care. For months she's been trying to come up with words that would wipe the arrogant smirk of Jughead's face and now that she managed to do it without even knowing how she feels everything but satisfied. Tears sting her eyes as she buries her face in her hands, wondering what on earth could make Jughead react like that.

"You're home early," JB states as she looks up at the clock. She expected Jughead to be away for at least another hour or even the whole night if things went well. "Didn't the date go well?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Jughead mumbles as he kicks of his shoes on the way to his bedroom.

"Was it that bad?" she asks curiously. As far as she knows, Jughead has had quite a few shitty dates in his life. But instead of moping about it, he always talked to her about the terrible stuff that went down and they managed to laugh about it together.

"I said I don't wanna talk about it," he says in almost a growl and shuts the door behind him with a loud thump. He heads straight for bed and has to fight the urge to scream into his pillow in frustration. It would surely only make JB ask more questions and that's the last thing he wants right now. Instead he lies on his back and stares at the ceiling, wondering how the date, he no longer tries to kid himself into believing it wasn't one, went to complete shit so quickly.

 _Juggie._ The nickname he hasn't heard in over a decade. The one that no one but his mother used. It sounded so good on Betty's lips, yet that one simple word opened Pandora's box and all his terrible memories and stupid reasons for hating her came soaring out. As if he got too close and needed to be reminded to stay away from her. All this time he resented her, tried to avoid falling for her charm in fear of getting hurt. He hoped that if only he put enough distance between them, he wouldn't fall for her and she couldn't hurt him. But he did and even though she didn't do anything wrong, he still felt like he was just stabbed in the chest. His mother was right. There was no future for people like him. Definitely not with girls like Betty. She was too nice. Too perfect. Nothing like him. And he was stupid to forget that.

* * *

 **Yikes, the date didn't end up going as well as we would hope for. What does this mean for Betty and Jughead and how will they interact after this? Leave me your thoughts and predictions down in the comments.**

 **You can always find me on tumblr iamdarkandtwisty**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm really sorry for what I did to you in the previous chapter, but the story wants what the story wants. I'm still really grateful for all the comments you left me. Hopefully things in this chapter will move in a better direction ;)**

 **Also this is the second to last chapter (Chapter 11 will be a short epilogue) so there is not much left. Hope you enjoy it :)**

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It's Tuesday afternoon and Betty lets out a sigh of relief when she sees Jughead leave the office. She hasn't talked to him since Saturday night and he seemed pretty adamant on keeping it that way. He's been avoiding the kitchen area just so he wouldn't have to walk past her desk, something she never thought could happen as he usually spent more time raiding the fridge than actually working. Betty made no effort herself, even though it was killing her to not know what was going on in his head. She's having a sense of déjà vu of the moment when they shared their first kiss a couple of weeks back. It's starting to feel like they're stuck in a vicious circle with no way out and Betty hates it. The moment they start getting close Jughead pulls away and starts ignoring her, probably wishing he never got close to her in the first place. But at least last time she knew what made things awkward between them. This time, however, she's more than a little confused about what made Jughead run away from her.

 _"_ _This was a mistake."_ Jughead's words have been popping up in her mind ever since that night, but they made no more sense now than they did before. What was a mistake? Going out with her? Was she truly that terrible to be around? Could he not stand to be around her at least until they went home that night? She though they were having a good time, but was he just pretending to enjoy her company until he couldn't hold it in any longer?

Betty is sure her mother could find plenty of reasons for his behavior. She wasn't nice enough. She wasn't smiling enough. She was too nosy or she talked too much. Whatever the reason, it was Betty's fault. But even though she's starting to accept that, she still wishes she knew what she did wrong. However Jughead Jones is an impossible man to understand.

Now that he left the office for the day, Betty hopes to get back to her work, no longer having the reason to look across the office every ten second to see if he's there. But just before she has the chance to immerse herself into writing again, she sees a slender brunette approaching her desk.

"JB? Are you here to see Jughead?" Betty asks, surprised to see Jughead's sister in their office, let alone at her desk. "Because I'm pretty sure he's not here at the moment."

"I know, I waited outside until he left," she answers with a shrug. "I came to see you."

"Me?" Betty raises her eyebrows in confusion and gestures to the chair in front of her desk, offering the young woman a seat.

"What the hell happened between you and my brother?" Jellybean asks as she slides into the chair, the tone of her voice clearly accusatory. "He seemed so excited to go out with you, but he's been in a shitty mood ever since he came back. He made it clear it's none of my business, but I worry about him. And it clearly has something to do with you," she says with a frown. While during their first, but rather brief, meeting Betty seemed much nicer than Jughead ever described her, JB is starting to question whether her brother was right all along and what the blonde could've done to upset him so much.

 _Excited?_ Betty thinks and for a moment she feels her heart swell, before she's reminded of the disastrous end of their date again. "I honestly don't know," she admits with a heavy sigh and JB's face softens slightly. "We were just talking and he said something about how he doesn't trust people who are too nice. So I tried to tease him about it like we always do and then... It's like something snapped. He started talking about how it was all a mistake and he just walked away." Betty buries her face in her hands, trying to remember if there was anything else that could've caused such a sudden change in his mood, but she comes up empty. "I don't know what I did to upset him. He hasn't talked to me since and I'm pretty sure he's avoiding me."

Jellybean reaches out to give Betty's hand a comforting squeeze and the blonde gives her a sad smile in return. JB knows better than anyone that her brother can be hard to deal with. But she's his family and nothing he does or says during one of his moments of stupidity will drive her away. Betty, on the other hand, doesn't owe him anything. She doesn't have a reason to stick by him if he tries to push her away. "I'm pretty sure that whatever it is, it's not your fault. Not entirely anyway. I love my brother, but he's such an idiot sometimes," JB says and shakes her head. She and Jughead are similar in many ways, but sometimes his actions are a complete mystery even to her. But just looking at Betty tells her that whatever happened, it wasn't her intention to hurt Jughead.

"I won't fight you on that." Betty chuckles.

"I'm not gonna make excuses for him. He's had it hard, but it doesn't mean he can be an asshole to people for no reason. I may not really know you, but you seem like a nice person and you deserve better than this childish behavior." Jellybean sighs, wishing she could fix what Jughead broke. "That being said, he could use someone like you in his life."

"Yeah, well, Jughead made it pretty clear he doesn't trust nice people," Betty says bitterly, wondering what terrible thing happened in Jughead's life to make him so afraid of kindness. "And by that he means he doesn't trust me. Whatever he's afraid of, I don't think I can change that."

"Maybe." JB shrugs. "But I sure as hell will give him a piece of my mind about that."

When Jellybean returns to the apartment, Jughead is sitting on the sofa, furiously typing on his laptop. Ever since the date with Betty a couple of days ago, it has been incredibly difficult for him to focus on his work while at the office. He could feel Betty's eyes on him throughout the day, but it seemed like she was afraid to approach him. Maybe not afraid. He assumes Betty is the type to not be afraid of anything. More like she was sick of his bullshit and he couldn't exactly blame her. He is too. But unlike Betty, he can't avoid himself.

"Will you finally tell me what happened between you and Betty?" JB asks as she steps in front of her brother, her arms crossed over her chest and determined look on her face. She hoped that talking to Betty would bring some clarity into the sudden change in Jughead's behavior, but seeing that Betty was just as confused only made her more curious.

"I told you I don't wanna talk about it. Why can't you let it go?" he mumbles, his eyes not leaving the computer screen.

"Because apparently Betty doesn't know what happened either. But she blames herself for something she probably didn't even do."

"You talked to her?" Jughead suddenly straightens up and pushes his laptop away, his attention fully on his sister now. "Why would you do that?"

"Because for the first time in my life my brother is keeping something from me." She slides on the couch next to him before continuing. "Even though it's clearly bothering him."

"I told you. It's none of your business," he growls, not wanting to talk about it any more than he did when he first came home that night.

"Yes it is. You're being an asshole now, but you're my brother. I care about you. I won't let ruin your chance of being with a girl like Betty."

 _It might be a bit late for that._ He thinks, letting out an annoyed grunt. "You don't know her. And you know nothing about what happened between us."

"I know that she is nice. And despite you treating her like garbage she still seems to care about you. Unlike all the other bitches you've dated. So just tell me!" Jellybean yells out, losing her patience. Over the past couple of months Jughead has talked to her about Betty countless of times. And while he was usually complaining, grumbling about how she was too nice to everyone, always bringing cookies or trying to make their office a less insufferable place to work at, she saw a spark in his eyes as he talked about her. He may have been annoyed, but she seemed to be one of the few people in his life he deemed worthy of talking about. So when she saw them together the night she came to his apartment in tears, her heart leaped, thinking her brother finally came to his senses. Except this is Jughead and his utter lack of social skills and ability to express feelings is ruining the prospect of a positive relationship of any kind.

"She said something..." Jughead trails off, not sure how to explain it without sounding like a complete idiot. "It's stupid." He shakes his head and runs his hands across his face in frustration. Jughead considers himself to be a good writer, but when it comes to explaining his own feelings he always fails to find the right words. Especially when he's not even sure what he's actually feeling. "She called me Juggie."

"Why would that..." JB squints her eyes at him for a moment, wondering what his old nickname has to do with anything. "Is this all about mom?" she asks after a moment.

"What about her? It has nothing to do with her," he says defensively, but the look on Jellybean's face tells him that she doesn't believe him and he quickly looks away.

"Doesn't it?" Jellybean quirks her eyebrow, trying to catch Jughead's gaze, but he avoids it, confirming her suspicion with that simple action. "She's the only one who called you that. I remember that much. But you haven't talked to her in almost ten years. Why would you still let her ruin your life?"

"Maybe she was right. I'm just like dad. I'm a fuck up," he spits out the last two words as if they're venom. _Fuck up._ He heard his mother call his father that so many times it may as well be her nickname for him.

"Dad is far from perfect but he tries. He always tries and you know it. But you... You're giving up. And because of what? Because of one comment Betty made? Because she called you a nickname you associate with our deadbeat mother? That doesn't even make any sense."

"It's not just about what she said," Jughead mumbles. He knew Jellybean wouldn't understand it. Hell, even he doesn't understand what gets him so worked up whenever he finds a similarity between Betty and his mother. But it never really mattered to him before.

"Then what is it?" Jellybean jumps out of her seat, no longer able to sit still. "For god's sake just tell me what she did to make you act like such an idiot."

"It's everything about her. She's so fucking nice to everyone. So positive and helpful. So... perfect." Looking like a summer goddess, too good for her crappy job, too nice to the people who don't deserve it. If there is one simple word to describe her, it has to be perfect. Jughead, on the other hand, is her polar opposite. Coming from a broken family that makes him always expect the worst and in the process causes him to drive away everything and everyone good that comes his way. Yet Betty wanted to make amends with him and share her lightness with him.

"Why is that a problem?" JB throws her arms in the air, wondering whether Jughead is just coming up with ridiculous excuses now.

"Don't you remember? That's exactly what mom was like. Always so nice and kind to everyone. Never turned down anyone when they needed help. And then one day she just snapped and left. Why would I go through that again?"

"Because Betty is not our mom!" Jellybean exclaims, not wanting to believe she needs to remind him that. She's heard all about mommy issues, but never thought her brother actually had them. Though, it's not exactly surprising now. "She's willingly trying to spend time with you. To get to know you. Maybe that makes her an idiot or maybe she actually cares about you. Why can't you just accept that?"

"Because… I like her, Jells," he whispers, not quite believing he's finally admitting his feelings. "But I don't wanna get hurt. Besides, I doubt she wants anything to do with me now."

"Oh, Jug." She sighs and walks closer to him again, putting her hands on his shoulders. "There is only one way to find out."

* * *

 **So, JB tried to talk some sense into Jughead, but will that be enough? Will he try to win Betty over? Does she want him to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments or hit me up on tumblr iamdarkandtwisty**


	10. Chapter 10

**I can't believe that after 5 weeks this story is coming to an end. Especially since I've been working on it for months now. I hope the last proper chapter will be satisfying and enjoyable enough for you. I'll be posting the epilogue tomorrow and hopefully some codas later on if you're interested. Let me know what you think :)**

 **Big thank you goes to everyone who is reading and supporting. It means a lot to me :)**

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When Betty finally gets home from work her mind is still preoccupied with Jughead. The conversation with his sister definitely didn't help her and if anything, it only made her more curious about what actually went on in his head. He was excited to go out with her. So maybe Betty wasn't just imagining that he seemed to enjoy her company. But it made the sudden change in his behavior even weirder, confusing her further.

Deciding that she doesn't want to think about him at least until the next time she sees him, Betty changes into her pajamas and puts on a random old episode of Friends. She has seen the old sitcom like a million times, but it never fails to bring a smile to her face. A few minutes in, her cat Caramel joins her on the couch and she cradles her in her lap, wondering why she ever bothers trying to figure men out when life without them is so much easier. She's on her fifth episode of the evening when a loud knock on the door startles her, the sudden jerking motion making her cat dart from the couch and into her bedroom. Betty quickly releases her hair from the messy bun she's sporting and pulls on her unicorn patterned pajama top in hope of straightening out the wrinkles before giving up and hoping that whoever has the courage to interrupt her evening doesn't care about what she looks like.

She rushes to the door, for once not using the peep hole beforehand, something she later realizes was stupid as she lives alone and this is America where creeps are plentiful. She opens the door and her breath catches in her throat when she sees Jughead standing at her doorstep. Her eyes quickly scan him top to bottom and back, noting there is something different about him. It takes her a second to realize that he's not wearing his typical crown beanie and instead of that one stray curl that's usually the only bit of his hair that's visible she's presented with a full head of shiny dark locks. For a second she's reminded of the moment from a couple of weeks ago when she had the chance to bury her hand in those curls and her throat goes dry. _He really has the dark brooding look going for him._ She's biting her lip and trying not to stare at him for too long before realizing she still hasn't said a word to him.

"What are you doing here, Forsythe?" she asks, putting an emphasis on the name that he seems to hate so much. "And how do you even know where I live?"

Jughead cringes when he hears his real name leave her lips, but he supposes he deserves it. Actually, he's glad she hasn't spray painted it in their office by now. "I came to apologize."

"Really?" She raises her eyebrows, wondering whether the conversation she had with his sister has anything to do with it.

"Is there a chance I could do it inside?" Jughead asks, his voice sounding surprisingly timid. "I uh... have a lot to say."

Betty hesitates for a second, wondering whether she should close the door in his face just to let him know how it feels to be ignored. But she knows she's better than that so instead she takes a step back and opens the door wider, gesturing for him to come inside. "I'm listening," she prompts him and sits on the couch, assuming she may as well get comfortable while Jughead tries to explain himself.

"Can I?" Jughead points to the spot next to her and she nods. He carefully sits down and runs his hand through his ebony hair, looking nervous. A breath catches in Betty's throat as she watches the movement of his fingers and the room suddenly feels hotter. "What?" Jughead asks when he notices her stare. "Is there something on my face?"

"It's just... This is the first time I've seen you without that hat on," she answers simply and hopes that the dim light of her living room does a good enough job to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks. She's mad at him, but that doesn't make him any less attractive to her. A fact he doesn't need to know.

"Did you think I would have a bald spot?" he asks with a grin, hoping to stall the conversation for at least a moment.

"No. More like devil's horns or something," she says, trying to hide her own grin.

Jughead chuckles and shakes his head. "It's more like a security blanket for me."

"And you think you won't need it tonight?"

"It doesn't seem appropriate," he says without explanation. On his way to Betty's apartment, he still has no idea where Jellybean got the address and he doesn't want to know, he tried to think of all the things he needs to tell her to make her understand the constant sudden changes in his behavior. However concise or long-winded he ends up making it, hiding behind the hat he's been wearing for a better part of his life just doesn't feel right. "What I'm about to say will make me sound like a complete idiot," he continues. "Or like an asshole. Maybe both."

"Nothing new then," Betty says with a serious face and he chuckles again. He misses this. It has only been a couple of days and he's already craving Betty's snarky comments and feeble attempts to insult him. But he knows he has no one but himself to blame. The relationship between him and Betty was working perfectly for months. Only when he started to realize that what he felt for her wasn't actually hate he freaked out and things started tumbling down faster than a stack of dominoes.

"I don't wanna make excuses for myself. I know there are people who had it worse and don't act like complete dickheads to everyone around them. That one's on me."

"Yep," Betty pipes in and nods her head, waiting for him to continue.

"However I try to explain it, it always comes back to my childhood. And I know how it's gonna sound, but it's the truth. My mom left when I was twelve, basically telling me I had no future and wasn't worth sticking around for. Mommy issues. It's such a cliché." Jughead runs his hand through his hair again, suddenly missing the security of his crown beanie more than he has in years. He wonders why he ever thought he could live a normal successful life when his childhood sounds like such a textbook example of someone who has nothing but failure ahead of them. Sure, his life is much better than he could envision ten years ago, but there are some things that will stay with him and haunt him forever. The memories of his mother being one of them. "But that's what started it all. What made me feel like I had to hate you from the moment we met."

Betty gulps and wonders whether Jughead changed his mind about apologizing to her and rather decided to tell her all the reasons that made him hate her. Not that she didn't try to create a list like that in the past on her own. One would think that her overly invested mother living in a different state than her would allow her to be less critical of herself, but old habits die hard. So every time something goes wrong in Betty's life, she creates a mental list of things her mother would assume she did wrong.

"I know trust issues are such a stupid excuse. And it doesn't justify me being an asshole to you. Though you have put up a good fight." He shoots her a quick grin before continuing. "I think I'm scared. Of getting hurt. Being rejected. For being myself. I don't trust people that are... People like you."

"People like me?" Betty narrows her eyes, not sure what Jughead is insinuating.

"You know... So nice and friendly. So... perfect," he spits out the last words as if it's an insult. Though, in Jughead's eyes, it may as well be as he usually tries to avoid these people. He's been reminded many times throughout his life that he's as far from being perfect as it gets. So it only feels natural for him to loathe everyone who sees themselves as such.

 _Perfect._ If Jughead's old nickname is a trigger for him, then the word perfect definitely is one for Betty. "I'm not perfect," she says through clenched teeth, grasping onto a throw pillow in effort to not curl her hands into fists. "I'm not trying to be perfect nor will I ever be. There is no such thing."

"Isn't that what a person who tries to be perfect would say?" he asks, cocking his eyebrow.

"I let you in because you said you wanted to apologize, but if you just came to aggravate me, then you can leave. You've succeeded." Betty folds her arms and tries to muster up her best glare, knowing that the unicorns on her pajamas probably don't help her in appearing serious. She wants to know what Jughead has to say for him, to hear his explanation for his behavior, but she's starting to regret ever letting him in.

Jughead sighs and runs his hands across his face in frustration. This is definitely not going the way he intended. If anything, he seems to be getting further from what he wants. "I'm sorry, that's not why I came," he says gently, worried that whatever comes out of his mouth next will only make the situation worse again. "The point is, I was scared to get close to you because you reminded me of people who hurt me. And I thought that if I tried to hurt you first you'd stay away and I'd be safe. But you're not like other people. You don't give up." Jughead takes a deep breath and Betty wonders whether that's an insult in his eyes as well. "I'm so sorry for being such a dick to you. The other night and all the times before. I was scared of getting hurt so I tried to make myself hate you. And maybe I succeeded for a while. But you…" He shakes his head with laugh as he feels his cheeks growing red. The insecure part of him makes him want to avoid her gaze, to leave the apartment and never see her again. But he makes himself look up, the sparkle in Betty's green eyes giving him to boost of courage he so desperately needs. "You make me feel crazy. I tried to fight it, but you look at me, you smile at me and suddenly I don't hate you anymore. I..." The breath catches in his throat, knowing that whatever he's about to say or do will either help him or doom him for good and he doesn't know how he'll continue to live with either of those.

"What?" Betty raises her eyebrows expectantly. Her green eyes flicking between his stormy blue ones and his lips, as if knowing that whatever he's about to do or say may turn her life upside down. But for once she's not scared of that. In fact, she hopes he can break the perpetual monotony that is her life.

Jughead doesn't say anything for a second and then his right hand is on Betty's face while the other one is pulling her closer as his lips crash against hers. The kiss only lasts a few seconds, but Jughead knows he will remember it until the day he dies. It's nothing like their first kiss, yet somehow the same. Full of passion and frustration but also care and love. This time instead of being surprised by his feelings and hiding them from her as well as himself, he wants to show them to her. Show don't tell. One of the most common pieces of advice that writers get. So he tries to apply it. Jughead Jones may be a good writer, but he's lost for words when it comes to voicing how he really feels. And Betty makes him even more speechless. So he hopes that his kiss is better at doing that job. "I think I may actually like you. Very much," he whispers when they pull apart, giving Betty the most sincere look he can. Jughead knows he can't expect her to reciprocate his feelings. Or to even forgive him. But he tried. So even if she hits him, kicks him out of her apartment and never talks to him again, at least he'll know he tried.

Betty stares at him silently for a moment, gasping for air, her mind a whirlwind of emotions. Just a few seconds ago he was telling her how he tried to hurt her on purpose. Trying to keep her away from him. And now he's saying he likes her. Probably hoping that can erase every mean thing he has ever said to her. "I hate you," Betty whispers and Jughead is pretty sure someone has just kicked him in the gut. He laid himself bare, opening his heart to someone for the first time in years and she stamped on it. Maybe some things don't change. "I hate that no matter what you say or do it only makes me want you more. In fact, I think I may actually like you too," she says and her mouth turns into a soft smile and before Jughead even has a chance to react, her arms wrap around his neck and she pulls his lips to hers once again. Her hand instinctively moves to his hair, relishing the feeling of his soft locks beneath her fingers, eternally grateful he decided to forgo his beanie for once.

Jughead sneaks his arms around her waist and pulls her closer, deepening the kiss. As his tongue sinks into her mouth she lets out a low moan, her body buzzing with excitement. It feels like another one of her dreams, except better. So much better.

"You couldn't have worded it any other way, could you?" he mutters against her lips, unable to hide the grin that is now spread across his face. Their foreheads are pressed together, faces flushed and chests rising heavily, both trying to comprehend what just happened and what it may mean.

"And let you off the hook so easily? C'mon, I'm better than that." She laughs, her body vibrating in his arms and he swears he has never heard a sweeter sound. "Now kiss me before I have a chance to change my mind." She smirks at him and Jughead complies happily, pulling her into his lap. Maybe he is an asshole. Maybe he isn't. Betty is not an angel either. But she has all the time in the world to figure him out and this time he'll let her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Once again I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who read and supported this story at any point. You made me smile countless times and it really made all the frustration over writing it seem worth it :)**

 **This cheesy epilogue is set a couple of years in the future to give the story a conclusion of some sort. However, I'll be attempting to write a few codas that fall between chapter 10 and the epilogue to further explore their relationship.**

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 **4.5 years later**

"To Blue and Gold," Jughead says, raising his glass of champagne and clinking it with Betty's. "One year online and still growing." When he and Betty decided to start their own online magazine together they expected it to take years to actually take off. If ever. But just a few months later it became popular enough to allow them to quit their regular jobs and fully support themselves with their own business, giving them the freedom of writing they both craved so much.

"Speaking of which." Betty sets her glass down, reaching under the throw pillow on the couch where she had hidden her present. She was going to give it to him today even if they weren't celebrating the anniversary of their magazine, but it seemed like an ideal opportunity. "I have something for you."

"Wait, are we exchanging gifts for this too?" Jughead asks confused, wondering whether Betty is expecting him to give her something as well. He'd hate to see her disappointed. "I thought that was just for our wedding anniversary. And I know for a fact that's not for another three months." Jughead has never been good with dates, but he is certain that he will never forget the day his enemy turned love of his life became his wife.

"No, don't worry." Betty chuckles at Jughead's panicked look, trying to hide her own anxiety. "This is something a bit different," she says and hands him a little present wrapped in a simple blue paper. "C'mon, open it," she prompts him, nervously awaiting his reaction.

He eyes her suspiciously, before tearing the paper and revealing a little plastic stick with two bright pink lines. "Is that… Are you…" His eyes widen in shock, his jaw drops slightly and it feels like everything around him slowed down.

"Yes, Juggie. We're having a baby." Betty nods and smiles at him, tears glistening in her eyes. Betty and Jughead weren't exactly trying for a baby. But when Betty decided to come off the pill about three months ago, they decided they would take whatever the fate would bring them. They were ready to starts a family together even though neither of them expected her to get pregnant so soon.

"Oh my god," he whispers, not quite believing it just yet. Jughead knew it was likely to happen sooner or later but he didn't want to get his hopes up. He knew that even for perfectly healthy couples it could sometimes take long months despite actively trying. So up until this point it felt like this abstract unreachable idea. Something too good to actually happen. However, holding the proof in his hands along with Betty's words confirming it makes the whole thing actually real and for once he's lost for words.

"Are you okay?" Betty asks with concern when he keeps staring at the pregnancy test in his hands for what feels like ages without saying anything. She starts worrying that maybe despite making the decision together Jughead realized he's not ready after all. They've been married for almost two years and still madly in love, but that alone didn't make one ready for parenthood.

It's only when Jughead feels Betty's hand on his cheek, that his eyes snap to hers, the blank stare replaced by a look of utter happiness. "I'm amazing. I'm gonna be a dad!" he yells out and all of a sudden his lips are on Betty's, both desperately trying to kiss each other despite their wide smiles and giggles getting in the way.

"Yes, you are," Betty says once they pull apart a little, their arms still tightly wrapped around each other, tears of happiness spilling down her cheeks.

"I love you, Betty. So much," Jughead says, his own eyes filled with tears. Five years ago, when they first met he didn't think these words could ever be true. It took some time for him to rewire his brain, to understand that despite their rocky start Betty genuinely cared about him and didn't intend to hurt him. And once he his mind finally caught up with these facts he fell for her faster and harder than he ever thought possible. "How did I get so lucky?" he wonders out loud as he brushes his fingers through Betty's hair, a look of adoration gracing his face. She hates the word perfect, but that's exactly what she is for him.

"Well, you tried really hard to hate me," Betty says with a giggle and takes his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together. "And I liked the challenge of proving you wrong." Jughead certainly didn't make the start of their relationship easy but thankfully Betty was stubborn enough to keep giving him chances until he finally realized that what he felt for her wasn't hate after all.

"I think I loved to hate you." Jughead chuckles, mentally slapping himself for all the times he tried to hurt Betty in order to protect his heart. If only he knew Betty would be the one to keep it safe. "But I'm glad you proved me wrong, because I love to love you even more."

"I love you too, Juggie. Never ever doubt that." Fresh tears roll down Betty's face and for a moment she wants blame the pregnancy hormones, but she knows it's more than that. She's hopelessly, irrevocably in love with the man in front of her. Knowing that words can't describe her feelings well enough she kisses him with all her might and passion, making sure he never forgets that.

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 **I hope you enjoyed this story and that we'll see each other again soon :)**


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